Midnight Moonlight
by Annjirika
Summary: When Yuffie finds Traverse Town, she's unaware she's stumbled into a dangerous world, a world of the undead. And they're looking to make her one of their own. She'll learn monsters DO exist. And his name is Squall. RikuYuffieSquall
1. Darkness

This has been rewritten to fit the story as I've changed it...that and the mistakes. Lord knows there'll still be a zillion of em but hey, worth a shot.

BEGIN

When I first came to Traverse Town, I met a man named Cid. He warned me about the evils of the town. He explained how 2/3 of it, 2nd and 3rd District were off-limits because of what they contained.

Vampires.

Now please understand that after being taught all my life that monsters didn't exist, I was extremely skeptical of this crazy man's whiskey fueled rumors. I mean, honestly, three hunters living, isolated in the 3rd district, fighting the bad guys and protecting the innocent civilians from a fate worse than death....LIFE after death? Yeah I wasn't exactly jumping the nearest gummy ship to escape. Sounded to me like some sort of sad conspiracy to keep the dark, hidden secrets of the town quiet.

I announced my skepticism and was answered with something like 'fine, get yerself killed.' I would have walked out of his dusty little Accessory shop had he not suddenly offered me a place to sleep. Weary of this old man, I wondered what he'd want in return. When he realized my suspicions, I thought a blood vein in his face had popped. Not many people could turn that red.

"J-just get upstairs." He stuttered gruffly. "I'm not turning away someone new, especially if they're ignorant." He slipped in the insult none too subtly. Grumpy old man.

Anyway, I accepted the place but on the condition that I would pay him. He refused so we met a happy medium. I'd stay on the old moogle's couch upstairs if I cleaned the shop. He said I could stay as long as I needed since the synthesizing shop had been on hiatus for many years.

Moogles, I was informed, were small white animal-like things with red balls on their heads. I had yet to see one of these creatures. "That's because of the vampires. Its what they feed on." Cid explained, tossing me a blanket.

"Oh yes, of course. Vampires. Forget humans eh? Its all about the moogles." I muttered sarcastically

"Are you done?" He asked with a bitchy attitude.

"Moogle. The other white meat." I added as an after thought. He glared. "Okay I'm done." I said in a quiet voice. He left in a grumpy huff, leaving me alone...in a treasure infested shop. I wouldn't have thought him to be so trusting. Morning came in nearly 8 hours –figuratively speaking. If I was to be fresh and ready to explore, I needed all the sleep I could get. So I made my bed on the big red couch and fell in, dreaming of doors.

Doors that held the biggest secret unknown to humankind. A certain second district door that contained bloodsucking creatures of the night, waiting to be invited to the buffet of innocent humans.

I supposed being sustained by moogles was like eating rabbit food for the rest of your life. And to think a single wooden slab stood in the way of a roast beef banquet? If those creatures were walking among us, I'd imagine they were mighty pissed and pretty hungry. And those hunters? The stereotypical vampire had insane strength, so what human could fend off the bloodlust of the vampires?

Me. Yeah, I know. Sounds conceited but its true. People have been scared of me my whole life. Since I sent a boy flying quite a few feet in the air with one punch...when I was 12. That's when my parents took me out of public school and placed me in a higher institution. One that taught me how to use those fighting skills. People feared me where I came from, though I never hurt another soul. Maybe that was what those hunters were. Maybe I wasn't the only freak! Maybe I wasn't alone! Then I felt a wave of disappointment. The districts were off-limits. The answer to my life's question was unreachable....

Right?

TBC

More to come.


	2. The Prince of Darkness

I know I shouldn't have. I know that. But I also know I have a tendency to do what I know I shouldn't. Danger seeker? Possibly. Its more of an intense curiosity about what I don't know and can't see. I have this problem that some people call 'A one track mind'. When it gets in my head, it doesn't go away. And if it answers a question I've carried my whole life, its almost maddening to know the solution is a door away. I think I can relate to those vampires. The vampires behind the door. The door I was standing in the front of, one hand bracing the slippery, cool wall and the other on the large handle.

If I opened this door...the vampires would be free. Did I really want to the lives of the already terrorized townies...or did I really want to search for my own answers? No matter what the cost? I fingered my ninja star, preparing to kill the first thing that came at me. I kicked the broken chain out of my way. Do it. I pulled the door fiercely...and it didn't budge. I growled and braced myself against the wall. With another yank I found it moved the slightest inch.

Encouraged, I continued that routine until I was out of breath and forming blisters on my hands. But it was open and I was determined. I placed my food against the wall once more and gripped the handle tightly. With a groan, the door plopped open and heavily slid back. I saw the splintered wood and realized what I had just broken through. They'd had the doors sealed together. I looked in awe at the other side, where there were overlapping wooden crosses nailed to it. Vampires can't touch crosses. They were serious.

For a second, my stomach became knotted with fear. I slammed the door shut behind me in a useless effort to keep out the demons. I was in a second district. A sudden flapping sound made me gasp. I looked around the dark, dark area of town. It was fairly run down, boarded up everywhere, trash blowing across the ground. The flapping noise came again, closer this time. I pressed myself against the door, trying to pull myself together. I could kill them. "Come out if you're there." I called rather weakly.

A dark lamppost flickered momentarily but never came on. Okay that was seriously creepy. "Oh come on. The first human to walk into your midst and you're gonna hide from it?" My voice wasn't near as weak. It didn't seem like a good idea to taunt them but i had to say something. The reality was setting in and the adrenaline was beginning to pump harder. I knew I had to find 3rd District.

"You aren't human." A smooth, female voice spoke from next to me. I jumped visibly. The woman laughed, showing her sharp, white fangs. She was a little older than me - at least, she had been before she was sired. There was no telling how old she really was. Her eyes lacked any life at all, a dark, deep brown. She was pale, almost translucent, with long black hair pulled up into an intricate braid/bun and perfectly full lips, painted black. She was beautiful. Judging by her long black cape, she was the one causing the flapping noise. Her boots made heavy thumps against the ground as she paced in front of me.

"What do you mean I'm not human?" I asked. "Of course I'm human." There ya go Yuffie, way to sell yourself.

She flashed her fangs again. "You smell different than a human."

"Who cares what she smells like Lulu. Her blood is warm, ya?" A new vampire emerged from the shadows, appearing in less than two seconds at the female vampire, Lulu's side. He grinned at me without amusement. I knew it was for intimidation. Nonetheless, he was a very handsome vampire, the same pale color as Lulu. He had broad shoulders and towered at what must've been 6'2 or 6'3. His rugged jaw line and piercing brown eyes were a perfect fit to his red hair.

Lulu glared at him. "She is my kill Wakka. I found her." Hey! I thought indignantly. I'm not a freakin donut.

"Share with us, Lulu. C'mon we're like family." Another voice. I looked in its direction to find three more vampires. Two male, and one female. The woman had short, silvery hair with red eyes and a secretive smile. One of the men had a semi-wiry frame and seemed to radiate energy. The other had hair like the girl, but whiter and thicker. He too was good looking.

"She is my kill." Lulu repeated with a low hiss.

"Hey, I'd appreciate it if you didn't refer to me as your kill." I spoke up. the group looked at me and deadpanned.

"She's my dinner." Lulu said instead and looked at me questioningly. "Better?" She asked sarcastically.

"Look its been a long time since we've had any fresh meat. Nearly 2 decades of moogles is driving me crazy. One swallow." The hyper one begged, eyeing me hungrily. I wondered what in the hell I had been thinking coming here.

"We're all hungry Yaibal." The white-headed one glared.

"Would you both shut up?!" The red eyed woman spoke. Yaibal pouted for a second. "Don't you get it? The doors open and the deal's off. We all have a full meal." She waited for the full meaning to sink in. It had already sank for me - right to the bottom of my stomach.

Wakka realized it first. "She's invaded our territory. We can invade theirs!"

"No!"" I cried. "You can't! You...you have to be invited!" They all started at me again. In a swift move, I was pinned by my neck against the door. Lulu glared into my eyes with an intense void of hatred.

"I could kill you for your insolence." She murmured.

"Calm down Lu." Wakka warned.

"Shut up." She growled. "You'll invite us, just for the hell of it. OR I'll rip out your throat right now." She tightened her grip to emphasize her threat. I struggled to fight against her and almost broke free. I could see her surprise at my strength.

"Go to hell." I managed to choke out.

"That's original." Yaibal muttered, snickering. Lulu's grip tightened again.

"Drop her Luluethia." A smooth, icy cold voice ordered. Lulu immediately obeyed, backing away reluctantly. I fell to the ground, coughing. The sudden ability to breath overwhelmed me. I heard heavy footsteps approach and stop in front of me. A steel toed boot nudged my leg. "Get up." My savior ordered in disgust. His voice was so commanding; I was strangely compelled to obey. When I brought my eyes to his face I felt like I was being strangled once again.

He was absolutely beautiful. He had a little more color than the others, and his eyes were so very very dark blue. He had long brown hair with bangs that fell into his eyes, half-shielding a curious scar across the bridge of his nose. He was tall, shorter than Wakka but tall nonetheless, with broad shoulders and a strong looking body. His all black attire only added to his deadly but extremely sexy image. No wonder he was the leader.

"You wont harm her." The man spoke severely. Lulu looked ashamed. He looked back at me. "I watched you open that door. Lulu is right; You are not human."

"Yes I am." I argued. Yaibal looked terrified for me. I saw all eyes look for the man's reaction and wondered how bad a mistake I'd just made. He smirked.

"Not only are you a hunter, you're also an idiot." I accepted that as an insult, warning, and explanation. Hunter? "I'm sparing you now, but the others wont. Your next run in with our kind may be your last. I wont show mercy again." HE turned to leave but paused. "How did you know we aren't allowed in a room without being invited?" He asked. "Do you know much about vampires?"

I looked at my audience - hungry and waiting. "I know the common stuff. You cant be in sunlight, you have no reflection, you have an aversion to garlic and crosses. I can kill you."

"How?" Wakka asked. Know thy enemy. Wasn't that what I was? Their enemy.

"Decapitation, fire, stake through the heart, sunlight. But since this place is always dark, that leaves me three options." I was becoming far, far too confident with these creatures. I should have toned it down but it was too late. Yaibal lunged at me, his temper and hunger getting the better of him. I guess he couldn't take the thought of fresh meat getting away. I reflexively grabbed a ninja star and sliced through his neck. Before he was completely beheaded, the leader staked his chest. Yaibal's head rolled and his body turned to dust. I saw with sick pleasure that the other vampires looked weary of me and their leader. The man looked at me hard.

"Now go." He ordered. I hurriedly gathered my weapon and flew down the path, down the stairs and away from the monsters. Now I was terrified and I was disgusted at myself for wanting to break down. I knew I couldn't - how many were watching me and waiting right now? I ran into the nearest alleyway and headed for the door. Any door. I reached one with a broken sign over it and ran inside, hoping I was safe.

A whole new area, a little brighter, surrounded me. The light was coming from a pretty neon fountain of a pair of dogs in the corner of the open space. The brick ground was purple with staircases on either side leading up to...I couldn't tell. Across the way, in another alley, there was a door with a symbol of fire. 3rd District?

I hadn't even taken a step forward when three unfamiliar vampires came form the left staircase. They saw me at the same time and grinned horribly. "Tell me. Am I seeing things?" One of the men asked.

The other licked his lips. "Nope. I can smell her." He laughed terribly. Their fangs were visible from far away. Oh hell, get rid of one batch and hit another. I was too scared from the first encounter to deal with them. What a mistake this whole thing was. Using superhuman speed, the three men reached me in a blink. I was going to die, but I wasn't laying down to take it.

"I want the first bite." The ugliest vampire grinned as he leaned into me. I sliced his hand off with my razor sharp and still bloodied weapon. It went right through. He yelled in pain, snarling and hissing like an enraged cat. The others looked at me with shock, then hatred.

"C'mere human!" The first growled. I couldn't escape from his grasp but I struggled enough to cut him up and make him sweat. His buddy grabbed my shuriken and laughed.

"Well lookie here girlie." He taunted, waving it in my face. "You cant fight anymore. I'll make you hurt for what you did to Luther." He grolwed, glancing at his injured friend.

"Not right now she wont." A new voice joined the jeers of my fangy foes. Not another vampire! I was released suddenly, hearing cries of pain from my captor. "Duck." The voice said. I ducked and watched in shock and disgust as the vampire's ugly head rolled in front of me. The man with the voice grabbed me, throwing any thought I had about him helping me out the window. I screamed and tried to get free, but this guy was even stronger than me. "Stop struggling damn it!" He grumbled. Yeah right! "Kairi? Ether!" KAIRI?! ETHER?! OH SHIT!

I watched helplessly as a ran found its way to my mouth. I wished I could have at least seen my savior/killer. Right before I passed out I saw the face of a young man, turning both vampires into dust in two quick stabs. Then his blue eyes were on me and...I fell limp.

TBC

This will be a long fic I believe. Anyway, enjoys. More hot vampie Squall to come.


	3. A Hunter?

A/N: I am such a dork. I forgot to announce that this story is a birthday present to Deplora. Sorry. I don't know where my mind is. Probably that _'modern day Canterbury Tales' _I have to write. HAPPY (soon to be) BIRTHDAY DEPLORA!

BEGIN

"Hey Boss?" The man opened the door hesitantly, poking his head around the corner. The room was darker than usual and it seemed to have been hit by a paper tornado. Boss sat in his chair, facing the wall behind him. The man stood silently, waiting for his boss to acknowledge him.

"What is it?" Boss asked coolly when he realized the man wasn't going away.

"I've got some bad news...or good news. However you wanna look at it. Someone seems to have opened the door. Some girl, we aren't sure of her name yet but we're going to find out." The nervous vampire took the opportunity to enter and shut the door behind him. "We do know that the Hunters have taken her to their hideout. You want me to...find her?" The man asked, unconsciously licking his lips.

"No." Boss replied sharply, swiveling in his chair to face the man. "I'm aware of the circumstances. She may not be as important to us right now as finishing off the rest of Traverse Town, but I want you to understand that the girl is not to be harmed. Period. If she is, I'm going to be feeling that its your fault. Then look for me to get a little peevish." He glared daggers into the blonde man's eyes, making sure his point was made crystal clear.

The lower vampire nodded. "Got it." He left without another word. Boss turned back around, sighing heavily. He needed her for something. He could feel it. She was valuable. This girl was important, though the reasons were unknown even to him.

END INTERLUDE

Ow ow ow ow ow my head. Talk about a killer headache. Killer...killer? Vampires! I wanted to move but I couldn't. The next thing I was aware of were voices. Quiet talking.

"Another Hunter?"

"Maybe. She was pretty strong."

"Either way, she opened that door and endangered every person in this town. They could all be dead for all we know. Everything we worked to create, she ripped apart. Literally." That voice didn't sound too understanding. At least they didn't sound like vampires.

"Listen Riku. We prepared for this. We knew it would happen eventually. At least she's a Hunter."

"But how do we _know _she's a Hunter?"

"Look at that door...and the vampire's hand...and the fact that she survived out there that long. And you know, she gave you quite a fight. I highly doubt a normal human could do that."

"I _am_ human." I thought as I heard a new voice join the group. The trio grew silent. I realized the voice was mine.

"Can you hear me?" One of the guys yelled suddenly.

I flinched. "Yeah but I can't move." I muttered.

"Ether. It'll wear off in a minute." The girl sounded sympathetic. Was that Kairi?

"So why haven't you killed me yet?" I managed to open my eyes. Feeling returned to my arms and legs.

I heard a shuffling noise and felt someone touch my knee. "Don't try to move yet." The person ordered. "And we aren't planning to kill you. We saved you." That voice was Riku. So Kairi, Riku...

"Who's the boy with blue eyes?" I asked, sitting up very slowly. The faces became visible. Two boys and a girl.

"Blue? That's me." The brown-haired boy smiled and raised his hand. "Sora."

"Sora. And Kairi. And you're Riku?" I pointed to the silver-haired one. I saw them all exchange looks. "I heard you all talking earlier." I explained quickly to keep any more suspicion from arising. I let my legs fall over the side of the bed, still feeling a little queasy. "Jeez did you have to drug me?" I grumbled. "And where am I? What's going on?" I went on after noticing my surroundings. It was a semi-decent sized room with three beds, a table in the middle of the room, and a sofa. A small fan swayed above us, making mechanical 'wrrr' sounds. A tiny doorway led to a tiny bathroom complete with shower, toilet, and sink. "Huh. You are the Hunters." I laughed. "And you actually live here? How?"

"Vampires can't enter a room without being invited for one, added to the crosses on the door." Kairi answered. "Plus, we're a heavy fight for the vampires. Not many cross us." She glanced at Riku and Sora with half a smile. "We're here to kill the vampires. As soon as we do, we'll go home."

"Is that even possible? And anyway, what's the point? Just get all the humans out and let the vampires take this planet over. Sort of an 'enter at your own risk' sort of world."

"You don't give in to the bad guys. We're around 75 or so vamps at the least away form claiming the town. Or we were. Who knows how many they've already turned since they've been 'invited'." Riku said bitterly. Because of me.

"I'm sorry." I said sincerely. I knew my actions would have repercussions but I never realized the impact it would have on everyone's life. Figures.

"If we could just get our hands on Squall..." Sora muttered.

"Squall?"

"The head vampire. He's the leader of the last clan in this part of the universe."

"He's got some serious power." Kairi added. "Can like...read minds and stuff."

"No Kai, he can't." Sora corrected genially. "He can read emotions, not minds. Not like..." He hesitated. The two shared a look.

Riku shifted on the bed to look at me. He didn't say anything so I didn't ask. "He wouldn't happen to have a very commanding sort of power would he?" I asked slowly, remembering the man that 'rescued' me. Riku nodded suspiciously. "Tall, dark blue eyes, a scar? Painstakingly sexy?" I asked, smiling a little. Riku rolled his eyes then, which I noticed were a very unusual turquoise color.

"I'm not sure about the sexy part-" Sora began cautiously.

"That's him." Kairi interrupted and blushed when we looked at her. "What? You know he's hot. Homophobe." She punched Sora in the shoulder. He smiled at her. Chemistry?

"You've met him?" Riku was back on business. So Kairi was the ditzy but almost normal one, Sora was the goofy yet loveable one, and Riku was the serious one. Talk about stereotypical.

"Yeah, saved my life." I answered, realizing how strange it sounded coming out of my mouth. _SAVED _my _LIFE_. It became eerily quiet. Sora asked me to explain and I knew I'd just announced something pretty serious. I felt pressured to say the right thing. I told them most of the story, leaving out the unimportant details of my sordid adventure. When no one said anything, I wondered if I should have elaborated or just left out the encounter completely. I had just opened my mouth to ask what was on everyone's mind when something landed with a quiet thud on top of the building. Though it was barely heard, it was enough to stop us all in our tracks, especially the others.

"Shh. You hear that?" Sora slowly stood up, staring at the window in wait.

"I'll go check." Kairi headed for the door.

Riku jumped off the springy bed, leaving me bouncing, and reached the door first. "Not yet." He murmured, bringing his eyes upward. Soft, but perceptible footsteps could be heard walking across the roof. To say I was perfectly calm would be the biggest lie of my life, since my heart was pounding like jackrabbit.

"They can't get in. We're covered in crosses and garlic." Kairi rationalized.

"Garlic? Really?" I asked, interested.

"Gives em a bad case of hives." Sora explained distractedly. "Or something like that. They just don't like it." As he said this, he pulled a wooden stake from his pocket. The end was almost sharp, sharp enough to kill a vampire but to enough to poke accidentally. "I'm going out there." He announced.

"I'm coming with you." Riku placed one hand on the doorknob and his other wrapped around a stake matching Sora's.

"No stay with them just in case." Sora argued.

Kairi pulled her own weapon and threw me something heavy and wooden. I caught it awkwardly, knowing what it was just by touch. A cross. "They won't enter." Riku didn't even bother to look at Sora for permission. But he didn't look at me. "Don't invite them in." He ordered harshly. I nodded. He seemed satisfied and pushed the door open. Sora followed him out and shut the door behind him tightly, leaving Kairi and I to watch nervously from the window.

"They can handle themselves right?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, they do this all the time." But she didn't sound as sure as I would have liked her to sound. Riku looked up just as a black figure landed in front of the window, its back to us. I recognized the clothes immediately. "Squall." Kairi murmured, reading my mind.

"What do you want?" Sora growled. Their voices were slightly muffled because of the window barrier. Even though the mask both boys wore was hard and fierce, I could tell they were concerned for their well being. They knew as well as I did that this man was much worse than the average enemy. Faster, stranger, even more evil.

"I want the one you're hiding. The girl." Squall's deep, commanding voice was clear, even through the window. I jumped when he pointed at me without turning around.

"What do you want with her? She's a Hunter." Riku replied. He shifted his feet, taking a stronger stance. Both of them looked ready for the worst.

"I want the girl." Squall repeated fiercely. I wasn't about to let another person get hurt on my account. Besides, I could take him...or something. It was a weak, futile attempt to raise my spirits. I couldn't lie to myself.

"Yuffie?" Kairi stared at me as I crawled off the bed and took my weapons from the table. The blood had dried and stained them. "Yuffie you aren't going out there." Kairi moved away from the window and stood in front of me. I thought it was kind of funny, she was even shorter than I was and prepared to stop me.

"They'll be dead before they get in a good strike. Trust me, I'll be...I'm sure I'll fix all this." I changed directions quickly. I probably wouldn't be 'alright' but I sure as hell wasn't letting my Hunters blood go to waste. She let me pass, though obvious battling with an internal struggle. I tucked the cross in my belt where a shuriken used to be and put the smaller ninja star in another pocket of the belt. I was prepared for whatever he could throw at me. I opened the door and quickly stepped out to shut it again. "You wanted me?" I drew attention away from the others and to myself. I was so caught up in not being afraid that I was starting to feel more like myself - cocky and confident.

"Damn. She never listens." Riku hissed to Sora. I was tempted to reply but i didn't. Squall turned his own eyes on me, looking me up and down...slowly. Sexy or not, it still gave me the shivers. I didn't like anyone looking at me like that. He smiled suddenly, an evil undertone present, and looked at Riku and Sora.

"You're lucky I'm feeling merciful today." He warned. Using his vampire super speed, he had a ahold of me before his sentence was finished. His hand gripped just below my shoulder, freezing cold and tight to the bruising point.

"Hey! _Ow_!" I jerked away from his grasp, surprising even me. Squall didn't hide his shock at my escape, grabbing me again as though I'd never gotten away in the first place. His grip was a little more gentle than before. Suddenly I was 10 feet in the air, on my knees on top of their house. Squall still had ahold of my arm, now looking down at the boys.

"We'll find you!" Sora yelled at me. Such a nice guy, trying to comfort me during my time of...abduction.

"Come on." Squall ordered, tanking me to my feet in a swift tug. He led me across the roof to the other side, leaping down before I had a chance to object or at least scream. Just before I hit the ground, Squall pulled up on my arm, letting me hit with a softer slam.

"What do you want with me?" I demanded as soon as I gained my footing. I received a glare, but no answer. I think he wanted me to shut up_. HAH! _Shoulda thought of that _before _he decided to kidnap me. "Hmm? I thought you let me go. Do I owe you something now? Listen to me or I'll cut you!" An idle threat.

He snorted. "Go ahead. You'll be dead before my blood hits the ground. Besides, I'm a fast healer. Perk of being dead."

"You wouldn't kill me." I argued cockily.

He glanced at me over his shoulder. You sound so sure." He replied coldly. His eyes resembled ice, giving me a creepy, goose bumpy feeling. And then they melted. Not melted like ice cream in hell, but just softened a bit. "I won't kill you..." He drifted off in a way I really really didn't like. It seemed like there was a 'yet' somewhere at the end of that sentence. He was leading me to a run down building in 2nd district. It held an old, broken sign that said **GIZ OP**. The other letters had been chipped away to a point beyond recognition.

"This is your lair?" I asked snippily as he unlocked the door. I noticed he'd let go of my arm a while back. He seemed sure I wasn't going to run off. And he was right.

"It's the office." He replied humorlessly. He spun around to face me, looking dead off in my eyes and inches from my nose. "If you threaten these people, they won't have mercy on you. I'd watch your sass and keep your toes behind the line until...just be careful." He warned in a low voice.

"Sass?" I couldn't help but murmur. He glared at me with a fierce intensity. "Oh fine, I'll be good." I grumbled. If he had intended to strike the fear of God in me, he had done so beautifully.

He muttered to himself as he opened the door, making it so I couldn't hear. The inside of the building was strange, obviously pianist a couple times. It looked like a mess of black, with bright pinks and yellows bleeding through. Chairs pushed around the room haphazardly, desks and tables places in the most inappropriate places. I shot Squall a thumbs-up. Not even his serious attitude could miss the sarcasm. "We're remodeling." He explained grumpily. I just nodded.

"So...where're these friends?" I asked, looking around the empty 'office'. Squall shifted behind me and the next thing I knew, he was holding open a door for me. I heard movement inside. There were no creases around the door. It just seemed to appear form nowhere. Hesitantly I walked into the room, grateful when Squall turned on the light.

"Sitting in the dark like a fucking surprise party." Squall growled at his friends without actually speaking to them. His friends, I realized, were as different as they came. Two younger vampires, maybe my age, maybe a little younger, stood in the corner. One had sandy blonde hair and eyes that were a sparkling shade lighter than sora's. The other, a girl, had red-brown hair that flipped out at her shoulders. Her eyes were a glittering green against her pale skin. They matched the older woman's eyes, also vivid and emerald. She had a gentle appearance, despite her fangs. I wondered how long it had taken her to grown her hair that long; a braid of dark brown hair that hit her lower waist. The last person, a man that rivaled Squall in size, had spiky blonde hair that would've me of Sora had it not been the color of straw. His eyes were also blue, nearly matching Squall's but with a little more warmth. A little.

I felt weird next to these people with my short black hair and purple eyes. I felt even more nervous when their eyes found my stars and cross. The man and Squall shared an unreadable look.

"So you're the girl." The red headed one lisped through her fangs. I nodded slowly. They'd been told about me? What was going on?

"Are you sure you want this one?" The blonde man hissed quietly to Squall. I saw his eyes travel to my small, underdeveloped frame and was tempted to slap him.

"Cloud." The pretty brunette scolded. So the blonde's name was Cloud.

"Anyone wanna tell me why I'm here?" I spoke up. The group looked at me strangely. Deja vu.

"Yes, she'll make a fine..." Squall paused, his back turned to me. "Aerith would you mind taking her upstairs? Show her around her new home." Squall made it sound polite but we all knew it was an order. I got the feeling you didn't disagree with his orders. The brunette smiled without exposing her teeth, non-threatening, and stepped past me to the open door. I walked out first, followed by Aerith. With Squall, there was a strange, safe feeling I had. With any other vampire, I wasn't sure if I could trust them. I'd mentioned the blood-lust before. If it was anything like the human drive, not many vamps could resist. Aerith, who was walking briskly ahead, laughed softly.

"You can trust me darling." Holy shit, a mind reader? I was totally screwed.

"Oh. Okay then." I wasn't sure how to respond to that. "You can..um...hear my thoughts then?" Hey the direct approach worked most of the time. Aerith laughed again, this time pausing to look to me. I caught a glimpse of her fangs.

"No. I, like any other vampire, can read emotions. Distrust, fear, happiness." She resumed her walk and I hurried to keep up as she walked out the other door. "You ask too many questions. But that's okay, you'll learn." She pointed to a ladder leading up to a large brown building. "Just finished building this a couple weeks ago. Used to be a big open space." She conversed. I reached the top and pushed the door open. My new home? It was a large home, compared to everything else around here. A kitchen, a dining room, living room, 2 bedrooms, bathroom, and a little closet space.

"My home?" I asked, poking my head around the corner. Aerith nodded.

"You'll be living with Squall of course." Its funny how a simple statement like that can stop you cold. One little realization can surprise you almost to tears and ruin your whole day. Everyonce in a while this happens to everybody and for me, those 7 words were that statement.

"Squall? Big bad evil vampire Squall?" I choked, not caring that I was insulting the head cheese to the head cheese's right hand woman. Aerith didnt seem surprised by my outburst, much less offended by it. "I mean, what the hell is going on? Am I of some great ritualistic importance? Just tell me if I should start fattening up for the ceremony. Would you mind telling me why I've been taken HERE?" A culmination of anger, confusion, fear, and adrenaline forced the questions and theories and accusations out of me. "With all due respect Aerith, I'm a little confused as to why I'm sharing a house with Squall. Let's not forget why I've been kidnapped, why I haven't been killed yet, and why in the _hell_ am I being called a Hunter?!" When I finished I was out of breath and probably red-faced.

Aerith was smiling that gentle, fangless smile again. I didnt think it was possible to see that sort of laughter in a vampire's eyes. Aerith didn't seem evil at all. I felt comfortable with her. Was it possible I found a 'vegetarian' vampire?

"Would you like those answers now or over dinner?" A smooth voice asked. Unmistaken sarcasm laced Squall's voice. Aerith wasn't shocked at all to see him. Maybe that's why she had been smiling. Super hearing was another perk I guess. A little ashamed but still furious in my right to know, I stood firm as I looked at the eavesdropper.

"Now would be fine." I replied, wondering what his dinner would be. Squall sighed in a tired sort of weary way.

"You will be difficult." He murmured, more to himself than anything else. "The true reason I've brought you here is unanswerable since I myself have no idea." He began.

"You aren't a ritual prop. You came willingly, technically not kidnapped. I don't plan to kill you..." Again with the pause. "And we call you a Hunter because you are a Hunter." He explained the rest in a not so nice manner.

"Because I opened that door?"

"Because it's in your blood. You have that strength that matches a decent vampire...thats why we call you a Hunter." He wasn't exactly patient with my questions but he answered them anyway.

"So...why do you pause after you say you won't kill me? Planning to...to make me a into a vampire?" I half-joked. Aerith and Squall showed no amusement and I got a little nervous.

"Of course not." Aerith shot my accusation down a little too late.

"Why am I here then? If you aren't turning me into a vampire and you aren't killing me...what use am I?" I didn't believe for a second it wasn't the first of those ideas. I retreated into the living room for a more open feelings...and a better chance of running. The door opened at that moment. Two familiar faces appearing. Tidus and Selphie. Hell, I was surrounded now. Squall leaned against the bedroom door frame and stared at me.

"You have the chance to leave right now. Either take it or leave it." He said quietly.

All movement in the room stopped. The three vampires even paused. "Is that a trick?" I asked suspiciously.

Aerith looked at Squall just as expectantly. "No trick. You can walk out that door right now."

"And if I do?"

"You'll be back." He replied simply. I stared at him hard. "Just remember that you will be safe with me."

I snorted. Yeah real safe. I decided I had nothing to lose, either way he would 'kill' me so I had to take my chances. I left then, as quickly as possible. I knew exactly where to go and who to tell. My only shot at help was the other Hunters. I hopped from the ledges and landed in the alley. I had serious stuff to deal with; God have mercy on whoever or whatever chose to stop me. Another thought hit me as i raced toward Third District. How were all the civilians? How many had been killed now on account of me? After I found the Hunters I'd go find Cid and find out just how pissed off at me he was. Near the fountain I saw a familiar face. Lulu.

She saw me and hissed, but turned her back to me. Hah. Squall's threat must've been hanging over her head. I raced up the stairs to the small house covered like the district door in crosses. I knocked quickly, trying to catch my breath enough to explain my predicament. The door flew open. "Yuffie? Oh my- guys!" Kairi gasped, yanking me inside. Both boys stood up immediately, looking at each other strangely.

I smiled and shrugged. "Guess who's back?"

**TBC**

Well, here's the next chapter. Thanks so much guys! Sorry it was like, all dialogue.

_Adalai_: Its rated R because there will be some pretty gruesome dark stuff later on in the fic. Well, not too bad but...you'll see.


	4. All Natural

"Ohmygosh." Kairi breathed. "It's so different." I stepped in front of her, also in a little shock. How had less than a day brought so much destruction? A lamppost had been bent to the ground, crackling and hissing against the papers and letters from the now missing mail drop and broken chair pieces that littered the ground. The doors of the Item Shop had been ripped off its hinges, thrown a few feet away.

"It wasn't this bad earlier." I shook my head when I heard crying in the distance. The cafe music was somewhat distorted - a broken speaker maybe- but it still rang out its calm tune in a futile attempt to restore peace to this once warm district.

"Hm, wonder why." Riku grumbled, touching the stone wall lightly. A red substance stuck to his fingers. Blood. Finding out my big answer was worth all these lives right? Somehow I couldn't seem to justify my actions anymore. What was done was done and there was so much to fix...

"Alright, damage control. Split up. I'll start with the Accesory Shop. Find survivors and get them here in 30 minutes. Take no vampires - Kill them." I took charge, though I was unconscious of the fact I_was _taking charge. Riku looked surprised and sort of threatened. I started to realize he was probably usually the leader of the group. "Is that okay?" I softened my tone, looking at him.

He nodded. "Yeah whatever." He said with a shrug as he picked up his crossbow and loaded it with a wooden stake. Sora had his dagger and two spare stakes, I had my ninja stars, a cross, and a spare stake, which left Kairi with what she called her favorite weapon, a large, heavy-looking axe like thing with two edges. Add a stake and a lighter and she too was stocked with death for the vampires. Between the four of us, God help anyone with fangs.

We broke apart, me heading for Cid's shop. The doors seemed intact, a good sign, but the inside was ransacked. "Shit." I murmured, seeing signs of struggle. "Cid!" I yelled, tossing the sofa right side up. "Man these vamps left a mess." I pulled down the ladder and hooked my star on my belt for two free hands. The above, my place, was spotless. It was like they never even knew it was here. "Cid?" I called again, standing up and readying my weapons again. My stuff sat untouched in the corner. I'd have to remember to get it. "Cid? Are you here?" I called for the last time, peeking around the fireplace. "Is anyone he-"

Cold hands shot out and wrapped around my throat. "You did it. You did it." Cid's rasp accused me horribly. His eyes were dead and lifeless. The two bite marks in his neck told me the whole story. I wanted to feel sad for him but all I could feel at that point was his hands choking me. Needless to say I was finding it hard to pity him. Cid, in his vampirey state, had gained considerable strength but since he was new to the power he was slow with reflexes and usure of how to use all of it to his advantage. It was a little feat, getting him off of me. He stumbled back but wasted no time in trying again. This time I sidestepped by half a hair and he jerked forward like toddler learning to walk.

"Its too bad Cid." I sighed, more to myself than to him. "I don't want to kill you." My star left my hand in perfect aim and sliced partway through his neck. The old guy shrieked with pain and yanked it out, bleeding profusely. I hadn't counted on that, but his distraction allowed me to stake him. Dust gathered at my feet, his remains sad and pathetic. All my fault. No time for blaming now, there were survivors to find.

I kicked open the bolted door and headed out, seeing Gepettos shop. It looked to be unharmed but the lights were out. Suspicious, I decided. First I knocked, just to be polite. If anyone was inside, they surely weren't going to open the door for anyone, not now. It was locked, a good sign, but I had to get inside. I kicked it open after a few unsuccessful attempts and shut it best I could after I was inside. "Sorry about that sir. Pinocchio?" I stumbled around the dark but clean room. Just as I decided no one was there I heard a thump from inside the other room. Of course, the bedrooms!

"Hello?" I called. There was screaming outside. I flinched. "Look, I'm not a vampire, I'm just here to help. My name's Yuffie and I'm-" I paused. "I'm a Hunter." Now that was wierd, just saying it like that. "If you don't stop hiding, I'll move on to the others. Sir?" I knocked on one of the doors. After a slow minute, the door opened. Father and son. I'd pretty much forgotten pinocchio was wooden. He couldn't have been a tasty treat...he was safe.

I smiled as reassuringly as I could and asked them to follow me. We hurried toward the front exit where I saw Sora standing with a very small crowd of anxious-looking peole. "See him? He'll tell you what to do, so hurry." I pointed at Sora just as he looked at me. He waved at Gepetto to hurry up.

"Thank you so much - come onson we must hurry-" The old man grabbed his son by his wooden elbow and pulled him the short distance to safety. I didn't stick around to see them off, knowing they'd make it. Instead I ran in the direction of the scream I'd heard earlier. My memory led me around the corner and up some stairs to an old bottomed out stage place with a blue safe sitting alone in the corner. The lights had been partly smashed, giving me only flickering light to go on. I stepped over the old speakers and looked around. There were absolutely no lights in this little spot, so it was strictly by feel only.

"Is anyone here? I'm going to help you." I whispered, shuffling carefully so not to step on anything or anyone. The darkness was deep. I heard a quiet sniff and paused. Then I heard footstps apporaching then and high pitched laughter. I threw myself down behind the speakers, wondering if it was useless since vampires could smell humans...and fear. The footsteps stopped a few feet away.

"You smell that? Blood. A whole lot of blood..." A female's voice giggled. I closed my eyes. "Its coming from...there." My breath caught, hoping to high heaven they'd pass on. I didn't have excellent sight, especially not in the dark. I'd have the major disadvantage. The vampire's heavy footfalls began and headed father from me. I breathed easier for all of 10 seconds. During the 11th second mark I realized they were headed for Sora. And in the next few seconds I felt a hand grab my arm. I nearly screamed.

"Help." A voice whispered. My eyes wouldn't adjust to the dark at all.

"Okay, okay I will. Come on." I whispered, feeling the hand of a small child take mine. There were no vampires in the immediant area so I picked up the girl and carefully stepped over the speakers again. I had to get to Sora. Of course vampires would be drawn there. A group of scared humans just waiting...damn it. Why didn't I realize it? The girl clung to me like I was her long lost mother. She couldn't have been older than 6.

The first thing I saw was the three Hunters. Kairi was back with the people, apparently trying to get them to cooperate. Riku and Sora were doing excellent at fending off a couple ugly looking vamps. I put the girl down when I reached the Accesory Shop and told her to avoid the vampires and go straight for Kairi. She agreed and I led her down until she was out of danger and had a clear path to the others. An older woman looked extremely relieved to see the girl. I didn't have time to witness a reunion.

"Finally! Lets go-" Riku yelled at me as a big, heavyset vampire tumbled toward me. I drew my stake and prepared for him. He caught my hand as I swung and kicked me back right onto my butt. I didn't even look up when he barreled down on top of me and lifted me by my scarf. He was choking me. I heard someone yell my name but I was too preoccupied to realize who it was. Probably Riku or Sora.

As a last ditch attempt, since I was determined to wipe - or burn - that smug grin off his wrinkley, fangy face, I reached for my cross and shoved it against his face. The flesh instantly hissed and began to burn. He jerked back, dropping me instantly and howling in pain. I picked up my stake again, prepared to stab the hell out of the vampire when his scarred face twisted into an expression of disbelief and pain.

Suddenly he faded to dust, leaving a pile at my feet. A small wooden object fell on top of the pile. I glanced around to see my helper. A shadow on top of the Accessory Shop ran across my vision. I recognized that cape. I picked up the stake and studied it closely. A small ' S' was engraved in the flat area on the top. Squall. Hell, he was following me now?

"Yuffie! Quit daydreaming!" Riku yelled at me as one of the last vampires, a tall and lanky one this time, jumped toward me. It left its chest wide open, a fatal mistake, as I staked it easily with Squall's own weapon and went back to studying it.

"We've got to get these people out of here - now." Sora said, not even bothering to comment on my oscar-worthy kill. Well obviously. _Where _was the question. We needed to hurry - the vamps wouldn't hold off for long. There would be another round before long.

"What is there, 15 or 20 of them?" I did a quick survey. " 16. Can we ship them off? Like use my gummyship?" I didn't even stop to think that I was suggesting the one thing that could have saved _me _from this place.

"15 in one? They can hold 10..." Kairi looked doubtful.

"Its all we've got. The little ones can sit in someone's lap or something. Can any of you drive a gummy?" Riku addressed the group hurridly.

A woman timidly held up her hand. "I have before. I'm not experienced. I don't think I've ever left Traverse Town." Most of the adults agreed. I felt another, now becoming familar, pang of regret. It was my fault these people were being terrorized by beings of the night and being shipped away from their home.

"Good enough." I decided, pushing my emotions out of the way.

As Kairi ushered them to the door, one guy cried out, "Hey, where are we supposed to go? What about all our stuff?"

"If you want to risk it, go pack a suitcase. You've got 5 minutes." Riku told him darkly. The man was silent. "Alright then."

"I'll go get my keys." I remembered my stuff and headed for the Accessory Shop...just as an onslaugt of fangs came galloping toward the promise of food. I was already at the Shop doors and looked to the others. Sora waved me on. I ran inside. It was dark...too dark. I'd left the light on. I was immediantly suspicious but not immediant enough. Before I could make out a shadow a fist connected with my jaw and knocked me out of commision completely.

_-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-_

"_Dammit_! Knocked out again?! Shit." I growled, wiping blood from my mouth.

"Looks like you got him back good though." Kairi smiled. She was bent over the brutally decapitated body of a civilian turned vampire. As much as I would have liked to maintain a smidge of dignity, I knew I couldn't take responsibility for that. I opened my sore mouth to deny the kiling when a sudden scary thought hit me.

"Wait...one of you didn't...I mean I certainly didnt kill...see, it knocked me out before I had the chance..." Slowly they put my choppy sentences together and looked at each other.

"We came in and you were knocked out but the vampire was dead too." Kairi said as she handed me a bottled potion. I took a swig of it and instantly felt the lifted pressure from my jaw.

"Kairi got your key out of your stuff. Hope thats okay." Sora added, as though it mattered that she'd gone through my stuff right now.

So I hadn't killed fang boy and none of them killed him..."Squall." I sighed, realizing exactly what had happened. Good God, he was like a big brother or something. Then again...I would have been dead by now without him.

"Excuse me?" Riku looked...angry. "Squall? What is this?" He demanded. His green eyes flashed.

Kairi looked at her feet as soon as his voice rose. "Hey." Sora warned, quietly but firmly.

I glared at Riku with the same instensity he was showing me. "If I was, why in the hell would I try to get those people out of there? Why would I kill vampires if I were on their side? Why would I admit to anything and everything involving him?" I could tell I had just burst Riku's bubble because hisfurious expression melted into a frustrated one.

I stood up and looked around the room, ready for a subject change. I was ready to forget this particular incident. Apparently he wasn't. "Not all vampires are evil at first." His eyes shot to my neck momentarily. Checking for bite marks? Holy hell, he had to be joking me.

"You think I'm a vampire?" I laughed in disbelief. "Does this feel dead to you?" I reached up and wrapped my hand around his wrist. "Next time you insinuate I'm one of _them_, you better make sure you see fangs." I whispered dangerously, yanking my hand away. Riku looked successfully admonished. Hah. Teach him to screw with me. Arrogant, self-righteous, cocky, suspicious, hideous, jerk-off, slimebag, bastard, meaniehead...I went through every word I could think of that I couldn't say to his face, silly, crude, or just flatout not true (i.e hideous), and communicated it through my glare.

Riku rolled his eyes. "Now that one was immature." He smirked, seeming to lose all anger at me. I have to admit, it threw me off guard. Was he talking about the threat or the meaniehead...

_- "He can read minds...Not emotions...Not like" - _

Sora's pause. Kairi's quick nod. Riku's sudden shift of attention. "You're a..." I didn't get to finish because Kairi interuppted.

"So what do we do? The people are gone and 1st District isn't a save haven anymore. Merlins?"

"How about a..." Sora paused. "A practical joke?" He offered with a huge, cheesy yet scarily maniacal grin. "Vamps wanna hunt right? Its half the fun. So, where's the fun in cave of moogles? Its like catching fish in a kiddiepool." He paced the shop, still grinning.

Riku picked up on his idea and started to smile himself. "We let the moogles go." He mused.

"Wait, why haven't you done that before?" I asked. The guys just looked at me. "Fine." I mumbled, rolling my eyes. I sat on the couch and Kairi followed suit as the boys began their planning. "Wow they seem so...so um..." I tried to find the right word.

"Their age?" Kairi supplied with a smile. I nodded, noticing I didn't know their ages.

"What age is that anyway? I'm 19, you've got to be younger than that."

"Sora and I are 17 but Riku's 18, almost 19. About a month or so." She shrugged. "They get like this sometimes. Not so much anymore. Everyonce in a while they go into this like..normal stage where Sora gets all goofy and childish and Riku gets..."

"Not so serious." It was my turn to finish her sentence. "And not so mind-readery." I added a little more quietly.

Kairi nodded. "Right, but then they realize what they're here to do and it becomes sort of quiet again." She sat silently for a second. "Hey Yuffie?" She whispered, glancing at me. I watched as Sora pulled out a piece of paper and a dug around the drawers for a pen. He came up with one joyously and began writing down everything Riku said.

"Yeah?" I looked away form the pair.

"How'd you know he was a mind reader?" She asked, sneaking a glance at the object of our discussion. "He just doesn't want anyone to know." She added as if to explain everything.

I smiled. "He kinda read my mind earlier. But he doesnt know I know...I think. I just kinda put it together. Don't tell him I know." We both smiled brightly when they looked over at us. They were satisfied and went back to planning their devious plan.

"I won't tell...but just a warning. Don't touch him." She kept her eyes on her silver-haired friend. "He can't control it when you touch him." I couldn't help but snicker. Kairi realized what that sounded like and tried to glare at me. "Stop it." She hissed, trying desperately not to laugh out loud. Her stuggle made it even funnier for me. We both cracked up, hiding our faces behind our hands.

Sora looked over at us curioiusly. "Whats so funny?" He asked.

Riku, blushing ever so lightly, shushed him and looked away. "You don't want to know." I heard him say in a quiet tone. That one sent Kairi into tears but it sobered me up a little. I guess I was embarrassed for thinking it and him knowing I was thinking it. I didnt like it, I decided.

When Kairi stopped laughing she took a few deep breaths to regain her composure and looked at me. "Want to go somewhere else? Upstairs?" She asked, sniffling. I agreed and led her into the old synthesizing shop, Sora still asking what had happened. "No in all seriousness," Kairi began again, back to old self. "He can put up a shield, and most of the time he does. But it's really hard for him to keep up his guard with human contact. Did he do it when you grabbed his arm?" She looked up at me questioningly. She was actually trying to be nice. She was trying to befriend me. This was good.

"Afterwards. I was kinda being evil to him in my head." I answered, absently rummaging through my things.

"Fira. Sorry its cold in here." Kairi mumbled. A fire crackled in the fireplace.

I nodded. "Hey, on another subject. Riku said vampires weren't evil at first." I sank onto the couch. Kairi sat on the stone by the fire. She stared into the flames distantly.

"Yeah he's right. When a vampire is first sired, they still have their same mentality that they did as a human. Eventually the hunger takes em over to the darkside. Its been described as 10 times worse than normal hunger, but it's for blood. Thats what sends vampires to the 'dark side'." She spoke quietly.

I wondered if she knew someone..."Who was it?" I asekd.

She looked surprised. "Who?"

"The vampire you knew." Kairi's face sort of fell as she looked back into the fire. Her answer didnt come for a long time. I considered telling her never mind since the question did seem pretty personal. "You know what just forget-" I wanted to bring back friendly, happy Kairi.

"It was a her. One of my best friends, a Hunter. And she was Riku's...well. They denied any sort of relationship but it was one of those obvious sort of deals." She laughed a memory I couldn't share.

"Kinda like you and Sora?" I snickered.

She turned red. "You think? I mean you think he..." She shook her head suddenly, remembering what she was supposed to be explaining. "Anyway there was another vampire and he was in love with her. Selphie had a big crush on him. He talked her into...turning. So they could be together or some bull like that." She narrowerd her eyes at her feet. "Of course she was sorry, and almost had us convinced she would be different. That she was still a Hunter but...she told me once that it was like starving. Only worse, like nothing could fix it. Not too long after that she left for good. Squall's got her now and she can forever be with the love of her life...or whatever. It sucked really bad. I guess that's why we're wierd about you. We don't want to lose another one." She laughed.

"Squall was the love of her life?" I asked, a strange feeling in my gut. The red-headed girl in the yellow dress floated in my mind. Selphie.

"No no no. His name's Tidus." Kairi answered. The sandy-haired kid with eyes lighter than Sora's appeared next to Selphie. Of course, Selphie had looked at me strangely when they'd said I was a Hunter.

"Oh. Okay." I murmured, ready again for a subject change. Kairi looked downcast, still staring at her feet. Downstairs, the boys could be heard laughing and talking. I wondered exactly how pissed off Squall would be when the moogles were let go. I didn't want to be the object of that wrath, that was for sure. "Hey...Riku's hair really is that color...right? _Naturally _silver?" I grinned. Kairi looked up, brow furrowed in misunderstanding. I raised an eyebrow suggestively and she caught on with a stifled laugh. I thought what I didn't say, testing to see if Riku was listening in. For a second there was no response...and then,

"I _heard _that dammit!"

_-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-_

_A/N: From here on out I really started to like this story. Now that all the boring stuff is behind us, we can get into the funness. If couldn't tell already I'm going to make this into a Riku/Yuffie/Squall triangle. giggles insanely I lerp it! Especially the end...I hope you didn't find Riku's being a mind reader kinda stupid (I'll admit, I did. But it makes for a good plot thingy later)._

_Okay! Serious problem here! I cannot find Maiselph ANYWHERE!!!!!! I was gonna read it and then I realized it wasn't on my favorites anymore! Did Aniiston (Tired-Anii) delete it?! sniffle I loved that story so much. Absolutely my favorite Sora/Kairi/Riku thing ever. I believe it was the first fanfic that ever made me cry like I did when I first watched the Titanic. (Please do not mock me. I was very young when I watched it and I haven't watched it since.)_

_I can't read or review anyone's stories until I get my time back online (We only have so many hours and I've used them all...) If there are any mistakes...feel free to point them out. I'm sure there's a whole plethora of typos..._

_Thanks to my reviewers:_

_October Breeze_

_Deplora_

_Braken-Fae_

_Bunny_

_Qwicksilver_

_Len_

_immortalrhiannon_

_MariQ_


	5. Lonely much?

A_/N: It's embarrassingly short I know, but here's my excuse. (I seem to have so many of these.) Finals are coming up of course so I wont have time to type anything up. Add in the fact that I'm sick and I won't be able to have pretty much anytime on the computer until after Christmas, consider this (possibly unless there's some sort of miracle) the last update for a while. I sorry! At least Squall is in it! Kinda! Without fluff...-sigh-_

_And if this part of the story is garbled or strange or rushed...well blame it on the cough medicine._

_z-z-z-z-z-z_

I chose to sleep in Cid's shop. They all tried to talk me out of it but I refused them. There was no room in their already too small house and at the shop I at least had a little privacy. Kairi said she'd stay with me just to be sure but I talked her out of that too. The end of the argument came when Riku grumbled, "Forget it. If she wants to sleep there, let her." And thats how I got my way.

I locked up tight and tucked a couple of cross signs in spare corners of the loft just for my own personal feeling of security. When I was finished vampire-proofing the room I wasted no time in hitting the sofa and going to sleep. I dreamed of nothing in particular yet I dreamed of everything. Ephemeral pictures, memories, and faces floated through my mind. My sleep was fitful and uneasy and I seemed to wake up every few hours.

At one point I awoke to something other than my dreams. A movement in the dark. I looked through the pitch black room (after all there were no windows) and realized my mistake. I should have kept a light on. I should have kept a fire going. I should have stayed with the Hunters. My 'should haves' were beginning to piss me off.

"Who's there?" I asked. Typical horror movie question. Way to fit the stereotype Yuffie. There was a thump downstairs. And of course, they were everywhere. "You better tell me who the hell you are." I tried to sound even remotely threatening. I wasn't sure if it worked.

"Shut up." A familiar voice hissed. A familiarly commanding voice.

"Squall?! What the-"

"_Shut up_!" He growled again. I did. Footsteps on the ladder grew closer. I heard the person start to open the little hatch. After a few minutes of quiet rustling it popped open. "Say something." Icy breath tickled my ear, the words almost so soft that I wasn't sure if I'd actually heard it so much as felt it. Okay, now I was confused. First he wanted me to shut up then he wanted me to say something? Indecisive much?

"What?" I whispered back, shivering. I could feel him right next to me. Had he been human, I would have felt the warmth from his body but there was nothing there. That was probably the thing that creeped me out most about the man.

My whisper was all it took. The vampire hissed and jumped through the hole. Within seconds it had it's freezing fingers wrapped around my neck. They never had the chance to tighten as a loud crack cut through its growls. The fingers fell away from me and the sound of a body hit the floor with a heavy thud. Squall had broken the stupid vampire's neck.

"Fira." Squall grumbled. A spark flew from Squall's shadowed form and landed in the fireplace. Light flickered on the walls, illuminating the room. Squall hoisted the unconscious creature over his shoulder and tossed it into the fire. The flames licked his skin, dancing on him wickedly. "The smell will run you out of here before long. Come with me." He said in a less than inviting tone. I wanted to disagree but the smell of burning flesh was already beginning to be bothersome.

"Fine." I mumbled, trying not to breath. I gathered the blanket around me and picked up my backpack. I had packed the essentials in it in case of some unforeseen emergency. Kinda like this I suppose. I could've gone to the Hunters instead, but I was still half asleep despite everything and Squall seemed a little more than upset. I wasn't going to argue the whole living arrangement point just yet. _Other_ things...sure.

Squall opened the door for me, following me out into the cold dark. "Hurry up." He kept a pace that had me nearly jogging to keep up. Finally I gave up and settled into slow walk. Squall glanced over his shoulder at me disdainfully. "I don't have time for this." He scowled at me.

"Then you shouldn't have made me leave." I shrugged, not breaking my stride. I could tell he was beginning to wish he hadn't saved me from the vampires that had been after me for the past...2 days? Only two days of this and it felt like I'd been here forever. "For a merciless, evil, unflappable creature of the night, you certainly seem like a big brother." I informed him as I passed. "That, and you seem to have no problem killing your own to protect a _human_."

I felt his eyes glaring at my back. "I...you...you're difficult. You know that?" He growled as usual, though it took him a second to get the words out.

"You have no idea."

"I know what you did." He avoided any further discussion of that subject and jumped into a less Squall-centric topic. How typical. "You sent the other humans away. The other's are...not very happy with you. Without me, you'd be dead before the next moonset." He was referring to the enchanted mural in the waterway. It kept track of the days here, changing from a portrait of the moon to the sun in accordance to the time on King Mickey's world.

"Yeah? Well I've got no regrets." I shrugged bravely. My internal lie detector was shooting off sparks._Lie. Lie! LIE!_The blanket was doing a fine job of keeping me warm; something else made me shiver. The thought that everything hated me, us, probably did the trick. Suddenly I wanted nothing more that to just go home. Back to my old world with my overprotective father and brother and loving mother with its cherry blossoms and warm sunlight raining down 12 hours a day. This town was growing less and less alluring with every fangy face I encountered.

Squall gave me the one of the bedrooms that was supposed to be mine anyway when we arrived and told me not to tear everything up. "I'll be in the next room if anything happens. Don't um...don't feel like you can't...if you need....oh hell forget it." He gave up his attempt at being civil. It must've been so long since he'd even tried.

"Thanks." I actually smiled at him, much to my own surprise. He nodded, grumbling as he shut the door.With a heavy sigh Isurveyed the room, going over the conversations in my head.I think it was about that time that I heard a click and realized just what was going on. He was lonely. Or something like that. Maybe he had just taken to me for no specific reason and was honestly just out to protect me. I was in the middle of this unlikely epiphany when the door opened again.

"Here." He said rather roughly, shoving the a big blanket in my arms. "It must be colder in here than you're used to...since I don't really...pay attention."

I nodded and shifted the comforter so I could see his face completely. "Um, hey." I tried to catch him before he left. The door paused less than half an inch from closing. "You_do_ know the reason for bringing me here don't you? You're lonely aren't you?"

He scoffed loudly, suddenly. "Right." He agreed sarcastically, letting the door fly open. "Trust me. The last thing I need is company. Don't ever think otherwise." He said. It sounded partly like a warning. I tried to keep a firm expression but I unconsciously took a step back. Squall glowered at me momentarily, evidently wanting to yell at me some more but instead decided to leave me alone. There was a flash of black before the door was slammed.

Apparently I'd hit a nerve...imagine that.

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_Thank you to my reviewers:_

_azn-saphirestar_

_October Breeze - I'm online, YOU aren't online! (Wait doesn't this sound familiar?)_

_MariQ_

_Adalai_

_Alassea2_

_Bunny_

_LiberateMe_


	6. Operation 2: The Great Moogle Escape

_A/N: First bit of rather important new. There is a blonde in KH: COM that I don't recognize! A love interest for Riku? Thats automatically what I thought - and I hope its not. Or I will have to hate her. I've suddenly been reacquainted with my infatuation with the drop-dead gorgeous video game character. I believe I need help. _

_Second bit. I have a puppy! A 10 week old wiener dog named Maggie! I didn't name her obviously or she would have been named something like 'Lenne' or 'Rikku' or 'Lovely' or something NOT common. But nooo my mom loved the name Maggie so...I'll forgive Maggie cause she's SO 'DORABLE! I lerp her dearly and I've only had her for one day!!!_

_Okay okay, I'll shut up with my boring life and get on to the story._

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Today was Operation 2: The Great Moogle Escape. I know, not a very creative name. But Riku had made it up and seeing as I was already on his shit list I didn't comment. Seeing as I'd slept since then, last night's oh-so-confusing events had been partially forgotten. I was sure the onset of GME played a hearty role in my short-term memory loss. I was prepared to leave, blanket and backpack readied, room practically spotless. There was no real point in trying to find or thank Squall. He was probably asleep (did he need sleep?) or in the 'office' or out...doing things I didn't want to think about.

I was totally wrong.

He was sitting in the living room couch looking quite...well...dead. His eyes never made the tiresome journey to mine, staying blankly focused on the wall in front of him. His leg twitched when I walked in though so I knew he knew I was there. I took a few tentative steps toward him, trying to figure out if I wanted to stay out of his vision or hop right in it. "Hello? You alive...er...whatever." I waved my hand in front of my face, rather than in front of his. I didn't want to get too close.

"Yeah." He answered, never moving anything but his mouth.

I was beginning to get creeped out by his strange behavior - even more so than usual that is. "Okay then." I started to ask what was the matter with him but remembered very suddenly that he had been hinting at wanting to sire me just days before. It had been incredibly stupid to follow him last night in the first place, but it was even dumber of me to stick around. I backed away, silently celebrating a victory for reaching the door without so much as an uneven breath from his direction. Wait, did he even breath at all? I couldn't seem to remember. He certainly didn't look like he was breathing.

And then he spoke. "You're different from the other Hunters. Stronger. You would have been an excellent addition to our team, just like Selphie." He looked at me. His eyes weren't quite as cold as usual and he seemed like he was on the verge of smiling. Talk about out of the blue. What brought this conversation on? When had we skipped small talk and headed straight for the heavy stuff? I was way past confused at that point. I was stuck in the land of the snafu. Why was he telling me this?

"Would have been? You mean you decided not to turn me?" I asked uneasily. Did I really want to know the answer to that?

"I don't know." Wow, how reassuring. At least he was honest. "I haven't figured you out yet. You're like this-" He made a strange gesture, sort of twisting his hands around each other as he searched for the right words to describe me. "-this muddled mess of emotion and...and humanity. You have no definite...well for lack of a better word - vibe."

"Vibe." I repeated. I was attempting not to be sarcastic or clever but I have to admit, it was really really hard. "Right. I'll um...I'll work on that." I cleared my throat and tightened my grip on the doorknob. "Look...Squall. Thanks for saving my ass a few times and thanks for, ya know, not eating me but...I just think it's time I moved on. Please, don't come near me again...or I'll have to kill you." This speech was eerily close to a break-up speech I'd given once. Except for...well most of it actually. I made a hasty exit before he could reply and especially before I could see any sort of reaction to my mini oration - violent or not.

Outside, the town seemed quieter and creepier than usual, not at all warm like First District used to be. I picked up the pace toward the Hunters' house. Luckily I had no encounters of the blood lusty nature. The three were sitting around the room, talking about last minute details when I walked in. They grew quiet the moment I closed the door.

"Hey guys. Ready for The Great Moogle Escape?" I grinned at them. Instantly I knew something was wrong. "What?" My grin faded almost just as instantly.

Kairi looked uncomfortably at Riku, who was looking rather stonily at me. "Sora went to get you earlier but you weren't at Cid's."

"Where'd you spend the night?" Riku jumped in accusingly. I looked between the two of them with mixed feelings of disbelief and surprise.

"You've got to be kidding me." I laughed. When I saw they were in fact very serious I sobered and explained, "I slept for half the night at Cid's shop until some slimy vampire decided it wanted a little midnight snack and looked me up." There was part of me, Rebellious Yuffie, that wanted to tell them all to fuck off and that it was none of their business where I spent the night. But Rebellious Yuffie was the one that got me into this God forsaken mess in the first place.

"And the rest of the night?" Sora asked.

"None of your business." Rebellious Yuffie also had a temper that was almost impossible to control at times.

Sora and Riku looked at each other. "With Squall." Riku sighed as he looked down.

"Yeah...well...well you'll be happy to know that I'm through with him completely. I asked him to leave me alone." I figured that would get them off my back for the time being. "So are we Moogle-freeing or what?"

"Squall probably knows. She probably told him." Riku grumbled as though I wasn't even there.

I snorted. "I don't think so. Trust me-" Those two words stopped us all. I hadn't really meant to say it, it just came out. I could tell these people didn't trust me at all. Hell, I wouldn't trust me if I wasn't me. I was 'friends' with the enemy. "You can read my mind if you have to. I swear it. I've kept every one of your intentions and secrets...well...secret." This time I knew I sounded as sincere as I felt.

I could tell Kairi wanted to trust me by the way she rocked on her heels, as though she wanted to rush over and hug me, but something was holding her back. "Smile for me." Riku said suddenly.

"What?"

"Smile." He repeated. I did, reluctantly. "Hmm. No fangs." He laughed humorlessly after inspecting me.

I couldn't help it. I stamped my foot like a frustrated kindergartner. "I am not a freaking vampire! I never will be. I'm not that...that chick. That Selphie girl!" Ah, have I mentioned how much I love Rebellious Yuffie? I decided to blame all foot-in-mouth circumstances on Rebellious Yuffie, including this one. She gets going and so does her mouth. 19 years old and you'd think she would have learned by now. I saw Kairi and Sora simultaneously look down. Riku closed his eyes. "Whoops. Taboo subject." I smiled grimly. "Okay. I'm sorry." I let my backpack hit the floor. In my mind, the sound of its thud symbolized my walls crashing down. I was sorry and completely at their mercy.

"It's fine." Sora sighed, running his hand through his hair. It did nothing to soften the chocolate spikes.

"It's not fine. I don't trust her and she doesn't trust us." Riku turned on his friends. He sounded pretty harsh and it cut a little deeper than I would have liked.

"Riku." Kairi warned.

I shrugged. "Hey, he's got a right to feel however he wants." I made sure I didn't sound upset. Actually I felt pretty bad about it. For whatever reason, I didn't want these people to hate me, especially not Riku. Maybe because they were the only one's that understood what I was because they were the same way...or maybe they were the only benevolent forces in the town that were willing to take me in despite it all. "I'm gonna go for a while. Just out." I decided, picking my bag back up. Before anyone could argue or stop me I was gone.

Where I didn't know. Just away. I was gummyshipless, homeless, foodless...just plain screwed. Wherever I wandered, it had to be secluded. The Great Ninja Yuffie was growing dangerously close to a mental breakdown.The grim facts were as followed: I had caused the loss of innocent lives - the only man that had the decency to take me in had been sired and then killed at my hands - I'd managed to make both ally and enemy seriously pissed at me in less than a week. Those were heavy burdens on anyone's shoulders.

I wandered up the opposite staircase, resting in the darkness of the corner. I would be able to see any approaching vampires before they could see me. A sorely needed advantage. I fell against the wall and slid down to a crouching/sitting position. I was in the middle of vampire city, unarmed therefore vulnerable. But I was angry. And anger was more dangerous than any stake or star.

How dare Riku insinuate that I was a vampire? Again! It was so not my fault that Squall had picked me to be his little sister! Granted it was my fault for staying with him last night but honestly! What else was I supposed to do? And why did it bother me so much that Riku was having such a problem with it? Who cared what he thought! Right? Right. It was none of his business who I stayed with or who I was around. As far as they were concerned I was a Hunter but I was my own person. They didn't have any say in what I did! I was The Great Ninja Yuffie!

Oh how the mighty had fallen.

I like to think Rebellious Yuffie took over then. In a fit of...I wasn't quite raging yet...in a fit of something I couldn't recognize I threw my fist against the purple stone wall...hard. Hard enough to knock a few cement chips to the ground beside me. "OW! Dammit! Okay, that was stupid." I grumbled at myself, clutching my newly throbbing and bleeding knuckles.

"You finished yet?" God, it was that damn voice again.

"Why do you insist on stalking me?" I demanded, glaring up at the dark form on top of the tall wall.

"I don't stalk."

"Right. You skulk."

"I don't skulk either."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes at him.

He literally looked down his nose at me. "If you're finished, then you should come with me. You'll freeze out here and you need a shower. Its time you got some proper clothes. I would have had you do this sooner but you'd ran off." He positioned his orders as suggestions and jumped off the 8 foot wall only to land perfectly on his feet. He offered me his hand like any gentleman, his chocolate colored bangs half-hiding his dark blue eyes. He was dressed in all black as usual, but something about the way his jacket fell forward, the way he was looking down at me. I shuddered.

I scowled at him, wiping my knuckles across my tan pants. It left a lovely red stain. In the tone I imagined would have been quite scary had it been from Rebellious Yuffie, I informed Squall that he could, "Go to hell."

And he laughed. He actually totally laughed. It was so strange. It was deep and unexpected. I wanted him to stop. As though reading my mind he turned serious again. "He upset you."

"He? No. I upset me." I grumbled, accepting his hand. He pulled me up easily. He looked as though he was going to say something but shut his mouth. "What?" I muttered, dusting my butt off. He scowled suddenly and jumped back up on top of the wall, peering down at me again. I started to ask when the reason walked around the corner and up the stairs. "For the love of all that is good and holy, would you people please leave me alone?" I growled. I knew 'you people' would inform Squall I was talking to him too.

Riku rolled his eyes at me once again and completely ignored my request. "You don't need to be out here." He looked at me closely. "In your state anyway."

"Look Riku. you're absolutely right. I don't trust you and you sure as hell don't trust me either so whats the point? But I appreciate the thought." I added quickly. I figured I'd stay at Cid's (the smell had to have faded by now) and raid the Cafe for food.

"I'm not going to beg Yuffie." Riku said coolly, giving me a look that was eerily reminiscent of Squall. Squall eh? I realized if I didn't go with Riku, Squall would...force me to come with him. Damn it all.

"Fine." I said. I looked up just then to see a blur of black and suddenly Squall was gone. Good.

Riku looked satisfied. "Good. Then come on. We've got Moogles to free."

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"Hey boss, you do know about the food situation don't you?" The tall vampire shut the door heavily behind him and headed for the window next to his bosses desk.

"I've noticed." A cool voice greeted him from the chair. "We've got the hunters to thank for that, of course." The elder vampire glared at the blonde man. The younger vampire growled unhappily and turned away from the window to sit in one of the chairs provided across from his boss. "I've called you here Cloud, to ask you for a very important favor." The boss began, folding his hands on the desk in front of him. Books, papers, and a couple of imitation blood bar wrappers littered the space. It was unlike the boss to be unorganized; Cloud knew something was on his mind. "There's a girl. A new Hunter. You've met her before. I believe this mission sounds familiar."

"Short, black-headed girl. Yuffie." Cloud pictured the girl and shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't been working on that mission...at all.

The boss nodded. "I need her. Alive. Minor injuries will be tolerated, but make no mistake I want her alive. If she is harmed or killed-" The boss' eyes flashed. "I will hunt you down and slowly and painfully kill you." The threat was not to be taken lightly. The boss was known to be true to his word. "I believe you'll recognize this part of the deal from our last conversation?"

Cloud nodded. "She'll be fine in my care, sir."

The boss settled back in his chair, eyeing the lower vampire, his 'friend' during off-hours. "You'll find her here." He handed Cloud a slip of paper with an address. "I want her by Friday."

Cloud calculated the time he had to plan a kidnapping. 2 days. "I'll get right on it Sir. But, in return...I'll get..." The blonde questioned as respectfully as he could, unable to stop a grin from forming.

The Boss smiled back. "Straight from the cell. I assure you it'll be fresh. If you'd like, one of the women had her twins."

"Nothing like newborn." Cloud laughed, already salivating at the thought of fresh food. He started to leave.

"This girl-" The Boss cut in darkly. Cloud paused to listen. "-is important. Casualties are unfortunate but...sometimes necessary." A moment passed as the younger vampire processed this reminder. Then he nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him. The Boss smirked. "Newborns."

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"There is absolutely nothing like sitting back and admiring our handy work." I sighed, leaning against the window. My hair was still damp, causing water to drip occasionally which in turn caused me to shiver. Kairi sat next to me and agreed, both of us clean and dressed for bed. Little white moogles ran around yelling 'Thanks Kupo!' as they passed the window. Sora laughed from his position on the table, where he sat sharpening more stakes. Riku was studying Squall's stake, admiring the precision. "So you don't think they'll retaliate?"

"Hell yes they'll retaliate." Sora snickered, glancing at me.

"And we'll be ready?" I asked as I gave him a dirty look.

He didn't take it personally. "Of course. The war's on. If they get serious, we'll get serious." Sora didn't sound too worried either. I figured he was right. They'd handled it for a long time now; I was worrying over nothing. I ran my fingered though my hair and sighed. I'd apologized more than enough times and made nice with each of them. To my knowledge, Riku had not been using his mind reading abilities against me because he hadn't mentioned anything to me since...since he came to 'rescue' me.

Vampires that passed gave us threatening glances through the window, where we sat totally safe. One particularly spiteful vampire brought its dinner (a captured moogle) and ate right in front of us. Vampires were sick, sick...people? Riku tensed as he watched the helpless moogle shriek against the bite of its captor. "Easy." Sora mumbled without looking up from his knife. Riku scowled but fixed his eyes on Squall's stake.

"I'm going to bed." I sighed as I swallowed hard to keep the bitterness out. The feeding vampire had made me a little queasy. I slid to the floor where my blanket and pillow - my bed - rested. Anyone might think that a bed was more comfortable but it was definitely not true. My favorite place was the floor. Back home I slept on a couch (they moved my bed out when I was 8 and moved in a futon) or on the floor.

Kairi agreed with a yawn and kicked Riku (politely of course) off her bed. Sora caught the yawn and put down his tools to stretch while Riku disappeared into the bathroom to change into something more comfortable. I wondered briefly if he slept in the nude. That would certainly be comfortable. I wanted to stay awake long enough to find out but I - unfortunately - fell asleep before he came back out.

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_A/N: Not a bean! It's not a bean October! Now granted it's not long but at least it's not embarrassingly short either! Evil smiley Anyway, I think this is where my R rating starts coming into effect. It sort of drops its light nature (if it was even considered light in the first place) and heads into darksville._

_Thanks to my reviewers: _

_Deplora_

_azn-saphirestar_

_October Breeze - To reiterate: NOT A BEEEAN! Giggle And have I got holiday cheer? What are you kidding? I'm like a giddy kid at...well...Christmas! HA!_

_Braken-Fae _

_Classengurl_

_Alassea2_

_ria-aeon-hunter_

_Qwicksilver_

_LiberateMe_

_KittyKawaii_

_Kristin_


	7. A Baby

A/N: So begins the darkness…I promise this is the worst chapter. I changed the rating to PG-13, since I realized an 'R' rating means there will be sex in it…but if anyone feels I should bump up the rating again, please review and let me know. I hope I don't lose any readers over this chapter. The cursing and goryness subside after this…

_Disclaimer: It's not mine. Almost 20 fanfics later, you'd think I wouldn't have to add disclaimers huh._

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_Midnight Moonlight_

_Chapter 7_

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"AHHH!"

A shrill scream yanked me out of a deep sleep and onto my knees, reaching automatically for the absent ninja stars around my waist. There was a loud thud (Sora rolling over and hitting the floor) and a loud curse (Riku waking up). "Who screamed?" Sora demanded groggily.

The light flipped on suddenly, courtesy of Riku since he was closest to the switch. The look on Kairi's face told me she'd been the proverbial alarm clock. "One was at the window…I'm sorry, really. I forgot to close the curtains." She was breathing heavily and shaking pretty bad. "I woke up and saw him and it just scared me." She explained quietly after a heavy pause. Sora crawled onto the bed next to her.

Riku sat on the edge of his bed with his face in his hands, apparently attempting to wake up. I, on the other hand, was one blink away from re-burrowing into my blankets for good. It couldn't have been time to get up yet.

Suddenly I heard the sound of crying. It took me a second to realize it was _Kairi_ crying. I knew immediately this was not a typical occurrence. Did she just have a nightmare? Or had the vampire done something? When Riku noticed the quiet sobs and realized how upset she was, he practically flew to her. "Kairi? Did something happen?"

Ah…great minds think alike. Or…other minds read great minds…whatever. This wasn't the time to act on any suspicions. Sora took Kairi's hand, all the while whispering soothing words. He could be serious every now and then. It was strangely nice to see that side of him, despite the conditions.

"It had…it had a baby." She sniffled, taking a deep breath to quit crying. I leaned down in front of her, resting again on my knees. We had her circled.

Riku looked confused. "The vampire _had_ a baby?"

Kairi looked at him with the tinniest hint of exasperation. "No." She coughed. "It was eating it." I think it was about that time I started holding my breath. I didn't even realize it. I would have choked if Kairi hadn't noticed I was turning blue and called me on it. Sora suddenly looked murderous.

"Bastards." He shot off the bed and headed toward the door, swiping a stake from the weapon stocked table as he went. He seemed determined to kill the first undead thing that moved.

"The window first!" Riku tried to get Sora's attention. "Check to see if the vampire's still out there."

Sora obeyed hesitantly. He only just glanced out when something hit the wall just to the left of the window. Every one of us jumped. After a moment of silence I asked, "Anyone wanna take a shot at what that was?" Like so many times before, it was a question I didn't want answered.

Sora's expression turned to determination. He threw the door open and stepped out to look around. His eyes fell on something apparently horrifying because he looked away quickly, swallowing hard.

"Sora…" Kairi coughed as she stood up to meet him.

"Don't." He said harshly, glaring at her. She took a step back, finding nowhere to go but her bed, so she sat. "Neither of you come look at this." He ordered Kairi and I. I knew it was bad…and I had the sneaky suspicion I knew what it was.

Only Riku was allowed to come forward. He simply paled when he saw it. "Sick bastards." He growled darkly, running his hands through his disheveled silver tresses. It started a chain reaction; Both Kairi and I both began to brush our hair out with our fingers simultaneously. We realized it at the same time too and laughed nervously.

Something in Sora must've snapped. He stalked over to the edge of the wall overlooking the vast district below, yelling furiously all the while, "Stop hiding and face me you stupid son of a bitch!" I looked at Kairi in shock. I'd never heard anything like that come from Sora's mouth. Riku's maybe, but definitely not Sora's. Her eyes were wide as well.

"Sora! Damn it!" Riku took him by the collar and almost literally dragged Sora back inside. I believe Sora let him since it seemed no one except Riku would have calmed him at that point.

"Sora? What was it?" Kairi asked softly as she stood up once again. He was too angry to sit down or even answer her, pacing quietly. Riku told us to stay inside until he said otherwise and shut the door before we (I) could argue. I was curious and a little sickened at the thought of whatever it was out there. But I was mostly curious. That was part of my motivation for throwing open the door and storming outside with no regard for Riku's empty threats and orders.

Of course, Riku immediately yelled at me, "I thought I told you to-" He shoved something behind his back like a 5 year old hiding a cookie. It had not been fast enough.

"The baby. Isn't it?" I asked quietly. A large bloodstain leading from the wall to the ground revealed where the baby had hit. Riku muttered a low curse and avoided my eyes as he took it from behind his back. An armless, bloodied, and limp infant was held in his arms. It was so small…a very very new newborn with half its neck missing. The sight, not to mention the smell, brought on a very intense nausea. There was no need for the baby to have been so brutally mangled; the vampire could have fed without dismembering it. It had been a psychological attack on the Hunters.

I made myself look at the ground, anywhere but at the baby. "Go and get a towel…please." Riku sounded just as quiet as I had and just as upset. I obeyed rather mechanically, ignoring Kairi's questions. Sora was trying to explain the happenings as gently as possible. Like me, Kairi got fed up with being treated like a fragile little woman and with strength rivaling mine she pushed past me before I could say otherwise. She looked at the baby with a blank expression. Riku, who'd seen her coming, didn't attempt to hide it. He left it out there for her to see. Kairi simply teared up again and looked at Sora.

"Okay." She muttered. "Okay. That's it then." She went back inside with a last glance at the district. The light seemed to change from warm to cold. There really was no good in this town. Anywhere. Hopelessness seemed to radiate from everything around me. There was no winning it was only survival. I put the towel over the child, its blood dripping onto my hands. I wanted to be disgusted, but I saw that Riku's arms were covered in it, all the way up to the elbow and even on his shirt. So I didn't comment.

"Where are you putting her?" I asked, trying to ignore the sticky, smelly mess on my hands.

Riku cleared his throat. "I'll bury her in 100 acre wood." He replied. I didn't feel like asking where or what that was. I just let it go this time. He told me to go back inside as he shifted the red-stained bundle. I hesitantly agreed.

"You're in good enough shape to fight if need be…" I asked. "I could go with you. Just in case."

Riku scowled and glared over the wall again. "I _want_ some blood-sucking bastard to mess with me right now."

The almost mad look in his eyes made _me_ afraid for that blood-sucking bastard.

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"_What_ the _fucking_ hell was that?!" I stormed into Squall's office, too livid to even comprehend the stupidity of my purpose here or the gathering of vampires that currently shared my 'breathing' space.

Squall, cool and infuriating as ever, raised an eyebrow and slowly stood up. "We were just talking about you." He ignored my foul language and my I'm-Going-To-Stake-Your-Sorry-Ass glare.

"Don't even _try_ to change to subject. I want to know why a half-eaten human baby was thrown at my home."

"Look. Darling, I can see you're upset but I have to ask you to lower your voice-"

"_Call_ me darling one more time. I want you to." I growled. "Your emotion radar is a little off. I'm a whole lot more than just upset." Out of my peripheral vision I noticed a familiar face step toward me. "You so much as flash a fang in my direction I'll chop your head off." I threatened darkly.

That's when I realized it was Aerith. She smiled, not revealing any teeth as usual. "I was only shutting the door." She said in her soft way. I allowed her to do that and then leaned against it as soon as she backed away.

"What baby are you talking about?" Squall sat back down again, keeping his eyes locked on mine.

"The week old baby one of your flunkies, or for all I know _you, _ate and dismembered before throwing it at our house." I heard the shift in the room as the other vampires grew uneasy. I recognized Aerith and Cloud, along with Selphie and Tidus. So these were his true flunkies. Or friends? "Hi Selphie." I grumbled. I felt the need to be civil to her, even though she was technically undead and no longer a Hunter. She nodded politely, exchanging confused looks with Tidus. She didn't know I knew and I didn't feel like letting her know.

"I have no knowledge of this baby, Yuffie." Squall told me, catching my eye again. To my annoyance I felt myself losing the initial fury that had burned me into coming here. Now it was a sharp twinge in my stomach. I was sure that had to be Squall's fault too. I didn't know how, but he had to have some sort of power like that. Damn him. "Maybe your little stunt with the moogles caused someone to seek revenge or something. I don't see why you'd immediately assume it was my fault." He sounded sincere enough..as sincere as he could get anyway.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't think for a second I trust or believe you. I know what your are and what you do." I made sure he heard me, though I kept my voice low.

His eyes turned downward momentarily. I had the creepiest feeling it wasn't out of shame. The creepy feeling grew stronger as I began to wonder why Aerith shut the door. I reached for the doorknob suddenly, knowing I wouldn't be able to run even if I tried. "Don't scream." Squall warned, as though seeing my actions before they happened.

I glared at the group. "What do you want with me?" Another typical horror movie saying. Lovely. Squall made a motion to grab me, apparently his idea of an answer. Cloud, unfairly using his superhuman speed, had me against the door with my arms pinned down. I fought with all I had, which was enough to bring my knee up with crushing force. That made him let me go.

"Cloud!" Aerith cried, rushing to his crouched form. I threw the door open and ran out into the bright, messy shop. I felt a breeze and saw with disappointment that Tidus also was using his vampire perks to beat me to the door. Selphie covered the other. Both stared at me expectantly.

"Traitor." I hissed under my breath at Selphie.

"Heard that." She murmured without so much as a blink.

I figured I could take her out, given enough time. After all I was a Hunter. But not with 4 other vampires hanging around. 5 against me…those were odds even I wasn't sure I could beat. "What is this Squall? You told me you wouldn't hurt me." I relaxed a little, acknowledging and accepting the fact there was no way out. I'd find one later.

"It'll only hurt for a moment." He answered honestly, his eyes watching and calculating literally every move I made.

"So you _are_ going to sire me?" I asked directly, trying my best to control the fear that was nearly choking me. I quickly knew this was pointless. Vampires could smell fear.

"Take her." Squall said emotionlessly, glancing at Cloud. The blonde had made a full recovery and wasn't looking very happy with me. Go figure.

"Don't touch me." I jerked away from him. I had to get out of here somehow. All I'd have to do was throw Selphie out of the way and I could make a run for it…to 3rd District.

"Don't make this harder than it already is. It'll only take the night." Suddenly Squall was next to me, hands on my shoulders and mouth next to my ear. I screamed and twisted well enough to get a punch in the stomach. He barely flinched. I immediately tried the Cloud kick but he blocked that, along with my other attempts to retaliate. Not even my stars could phase him…and there was no way I would be fast enough to stake him. Not now. "This is why I need you on my side." He laughed. "Just trust me." He grabbed me, holding my back against his chest.

I had nowhere to go and no way to fight. It was over. He'd won. The others looked on in amusement. Well, the men did. Aerith and Selphie both had a sad glint in their eyes, though their faces were blank. "I'm never going to trust you." I growled as harshly as I could, determined to save the smallest bit of face I could.

"You will." Squall replied and sank his teeth like two sharp needles into my neck. Pain. It was like having your blood taken through needles that were two inches too thick, literally sucking you dry. I felt my heart and blood begin to slow, growing light-headed. The pain was numbed after a few seconds…there was nothing…nothing.

And then he stopped. I was too dizzy to fight or even run. Even though, all I could think about was getting away. I must've tried to get away because I heard Aerith cry, "Watch her head Squall!"

No…I wasn't escaping. I was falling. "Come take her." I heard a voice say. Squall's.

They sounded weird and far away. I figured I was fainting from blood loss. "You drank too much." Cloud's voice soon matched the feeling of his arms as he lifted me into them.

"She'll be fine." Squall sighed.

I looked over drowsily, suddenly aware of what was happening again. Squall took the knife and passed it over his wrist. Blood gushed forward. "Stop." I managed to argue, though weakly. "I don't want this."" I had the strangest feeling that I was lying. The glow of the red on his wrist looked so warm and inviting…

"Shh. It'll all be over soon." Aerith's soft voice drifted over.

"This isn't right Squall. You said you'd wait til she agreed." That was Selphie.

"She wouldn't consent. Who in their right mind would consent to this?" Squall snapped. There was a pause. "Sorry Selphie." He added. _She_ had consented because of Tidus. "Drink." Squall commanded me, lifting his bleeding wrist to my mouth. I wanted to reject it, pull away, run away, get away…but it tasted so good. I drank greedily. Sticky, cool, a little salty and almost metallic…it would have been even better warm. "That's enough." And just like that the source of food was gone and I was left cold again.

I knew I should have been disgusted with myself but I couldn't seem to care…at all. "Urrrrrg." I made a groaning noise that was even foreign to me.

"Take her to my room. It won't be long before it begins and I wouldn't want to be holding her when that happens." Squall said. And suddenly there was a pain in my chest. Was that what was beginning?

And then I realized…I was dying.

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

_Interlude_

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

"You aren't going to be able to control her." Aerith slammed the door in a display of anger that was rarely seen from her. "She's going to wake up a vampire and be…be very upset!"

"She's strong…but she won't fight it for long. It's her strength that will bring her down the fastest." Squall replied easily. "Selphie fought it for little under a month. Yuffie will probably take a week."

"That may be, but do you plan to contain her for that month?"

"No, she'll find her way out eventually. You worry too much. No vampire can resist blood. That hunger is not easily satisfied with a cheeseburger." He sighed as he continued bandaging his already half-healed wound. "Selphie left. Yuffie will leave. They all come back. You did."

"Not because of the hunger. I don't have that hunger."

"You aren't normal. You're dysfunctional. In fact, I'm not sure you're even completely a vampire." Squall replied simply.

"Thank you. Either way, this won't be as easy as you think it will." Aerith sighed, sinking into a chair and hiding her face in her hands. "The Hunters will not be happy at all." She murmured.

"We'll handle the Hunters. Enough of this. Check on Cloud, make sure he still has his…" He glanced at Aerith. "That he's okay." He decided instead.

"Okay." She got up to leave.

"And Aerith, even though I'm sure it's obvious but just to stay professional, tell Cloud that the favor is off. We have her."

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

A/N: -laughs evilly- Well? Do you all just completely hate me now? You had to know this would happen…let this be known – just because Yuffie is now a vampire does not give away who she will end up with in the end… 

_I suppose I should explain the whole 'bean' concept. October Breeze told me in a review that my chapter was so short that it was a 'bean'…so I dunno. I just thought it was funny and decided to say it. Hmph._

Reviewer Thanks:

Amanda/Gothy

GrinningContrivance – Um, Riku/Kairi…but I don't know how you feel about that. And actually, there aren't any other Riku/other female beside Mary Sues that I know of…I'm sorry!

Yuuka Yagami

Crazytomboy1

Me/nambe

Alassea2 – Who wouldn't love Riku in the nude?!

Haiz14

Kairiluv

Angeli Amori

Kimou

Bracken-Fae – Unfortunately, Maggie has found a new home. But puppies still rock!

Azn-saphirestar

Deplora

Classengurl

October Breeze

Thank you ALL so very much! You are all what keeps me going! Thank you for the kind words!

Lerp, Annjirika


	8. Undead like me

---Midnight Moonlight---

It felt as though someone had their hands around my heart and was slowly shredding, twisting, squeezing, and ripping it out of my chest. My arms and legs were completely numb from a mix of blood loss and blood stop. I couldn't breath almost at all and my lungs felt like dry sponges that were simply shriveling to nothingness. My fangs were coming in, meaning I would have to lose the two teeth formerly in its place. So basically, it was like having my teeth ripped out without anesthetic, and then, just when I thought it was finished, I was 6 months old and teething again.

"It'll be over soon." Squall's voice was next to me.

I opened my eyes. "You….asshole. You killed me…I'll kill you!" I glared at him through teary eyes, wishing the pain would stop for just a couple seconds so I could actually follow through with the threat and cut his head off.

"Leave." I heard him say. _I would if I could, you son of a- _I thought darkly just before hearing the door shut. Oh. He wasn't talking to me.

"Just…stake me or something. Get it over with." I complained, slicing my tongue on one of my new fangs. The blood felt cool and smooth and somehow comforting. And then the pain amplified. I shut my eyes tightly and waited for it. Death would have to come eventually…soon, I prayed.

"Don't say that." He grumbled. Wait. An non-heartless comment from the King of Evil?

I felt something on my forehead, cool and therefore welcome…until I realized what it was. "Don't touch me." I hissed, shoving his hand away. The movement felt foreign to me, but it was accompanied by a deep ache. I regretted the move instantly and buried my face in the pillow with a groan.

It never occurred to me that he was trying to help or calm me. Why would it after all? He was the one that did it to me in the first place; why would he help? My heart rapidly stopped pounding and became a rather faint feeling. I could see spots in front of my eyes. I raised my head, struggling to breathe. The pain was miraculously ebbing away, leaving behind a deadened feeling. I grew scared. Was this it? Was it over? Was I almost dead?

The last thing I heard was Squall's voice say very softly, "Its over now." I died then.

_z-z-z-z-z-z_

"_Careful darling." Warm hands lift me into the air, putting me back a few spaces. I struggle stubbornly to get free and when I do, I run for the tree again. _

"_Watch me mommy!" I cry, gripping the low tree branch as tightly as I can. Expertly, I pull myself up through the pink leaves. When I reach the top, a sturdy branch that held my weight, I grin down at mommy's worried face. She is yelling at me to get down but I don't want to listen. Instead I look up at the sky, then toward the distance where I recognize my father and brother walking up the road._

_I yell for him, too excited about seeing him to care whether I fall or not. Mommy tells me to be careful again but I pay no attention. I scramble down as fast as I can, forgetting to use good judgement. I chose a small branch that can't take the abuse anymore and snaps, sending me a few feet to the ground. Mommy gasps and runs to me, scolding me though she's hugging me. I struggle against her, resilient as any kid, and escape her arms to run to daddy…_

"_Happy birthday Yuffie." Mommy says when she catches up to me and takes my hand. I let her. Together we walk to daddy, who is smiling at me brightly. I'm 6- years old today. He holds out a box in my direction, a bright blue one with holes in the top. I know what it is. My brother grins at me, urging me to open it. I tell him to be quiet as I carefully start to untie the bow. Impatience overtakes me and I rip it off, giggling with excitement._

_Inside, I see the cutest little kitten I've seen. Not even Mena's kitten is cuter! Mine is black and brown and has dark, kitten eyes. It looks at me and meows. "I'll name her Lula!" I decide, looking at her carefully. _

"_It's a boy." My brother rolls his eyes at me._

"_I don't care! His name is Lula." I stick my tongue out at him._

"_Yuffie can name him whatever she wants. Lula it is." Daddy interrupts the potential fight. "But you have to take care of Lula." _

_I don't pay attention to this. Knowing the responsibilities isn't near as important as my brand new very own kitten…_

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

"_You're a freak! Freak! Ha ha ha!" He taunts, jeering and pointing openly. I clench and unclench my fists, ready to punch his lights out. _

"_Yuffie, ignore him." Mena pleads, sticking her tongue out at the offending boy. _

_I pull away from her, wanting him to say one more thing. I want him to give me a reason to hit him. He laughs at something his friend says and turns back to me. I notice he is keeping his distance. He is afraid of me. "What are you? Scared? Come fight me like a big boy, chicken!" I tell him. "I'm just a girl. Just a freak!"_

"_Go on, go!" His friends push him toward me. _

"_Yeah knock her off her feet!"_

"_Hit her where it hurts, Aric!"_

"_Girl's don't have that, silly!" Mena tries to take up for me. I tell her to back up and she does reluctantly. _

_The boy looks scared but he is determined not to show it. "I've heard about you, freak." Aric laughs and his twit friends laugh too. _

"_Then you know I can do this." I murmur, seeing him flinch just before my fist connects with his face. He falls back a couple feet, blood gushing from his nose. I'm surprised but remarkably elated. His friends look at me strangely, then cheer their bloody buddy on._

"_Knock her out!" One of the twits yell, then hides behind a bigger boy. Aric stands up and glares at me. _

"_Yuffie stop! The teacher!" Mena's pleas never really connect with me. _

_The boy takes a swing at me and misses. I clench my fist and punch him right in the stomach. He flies back into the group of shocked boys. I am less elated now and more scared this time. How did I do that? Will I be in trouble? Why isn't the boy waking up…_

_z-z-z-z-z-z_

"_I think you'll really like it here, Miss Kisaragi." I catch only the last sentence of Ms. Trepe's introductory speech. Which is unfortunate, considering I'm the only one she's adressing. _

"_Oh, um, thanks. I'm sure I…I will." I do my best to put on a brave smile, even though I am scared out of my mind. I am alone here. I was left here with this blonde instructor, who looks my brother's age. My parents gave me a hug and gave my luggage to two older men, who took it somewhere else. The past half-hour has been a blur of classrooms, new faces, courtyards, and now dorms. _

"_This is where you'll be staying. Your things should already be here-yes. Right there they are." Ms. Trepe opens the door, which is labeled 7B, revealing a small room with two beds, my stuff resting on the bare one. "Your roommate is in class, as are all the students. You're dismissed from classes today and dinner will be at 6 p.m. sharp in the cafeteria…" She goes on to explain about my new schedule and rules, which are much stricter than I am used to. There are no trees around here…nowhere for me to climb…_

_z-z-z-z-z_

"_Yuffie! No! Don't you dare!" Rinoa whispers. Her restrained snickering crushes the severity of her order. I grin at her over my shoulder and hold a finger to my lips, hinting at her to be quiet. Vinnie-boy sleeps soundly though it all, snoring obliviously. **Sleep on, darling boy. **I think wickedly as I shake the can of shaving cream quietly, making sure it's nice and ready. I hope he's a light sleeper. _

_A sudden shot of anticipation pumps through me. If we get caught, we'll be suspended for sure, if not expelled first. Being in the boys dorm is forbidden, especially at night. And even if the school didn't catch us, Vinnie-boy would certainly retaliate. He's quiet and dark but an excellent track runner. That's the only activity I've ever seen him involved in, aside from skulking around and attending class. _

_I'd never even seen why he was here. This is a school for freaks and weirdos and abnormals. The only abnormality Vincent had was his social habits. There's been a few rumors going around that he's part demon or something like that, but I don't believe it. No demons, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, swampthings, or monsters in general . They don't exist. _

I have motive. I'm not going to shaving cream this poor exceptionally intrinsic soul just for the heck of it! I have good reason! It started in track, when we quickly made an unspoken agreement simply by locking eyes that we would be sworn, competitive enemies. No friendly sportsmanship here. I am outwardly cocky and he has that quiet, I'm-important walk about him.

_Anyway, he tripped me at the very end of the big race yesterday. We were both tied at the end of the lap, side-by-side and he 'accidentally' bumped me and knocked me off the track and headfirst into the dirt. It was so fast and so unexpected and so evil that I, the poor unsuspecting one, fell to defeat. He won. _

_The bastard. A dirty fighter! But I didn't rat him out. I just pretended to be the bigger person and accept fault, all the while sending malicious glares in his direction. No one messes with the Great Ninja Yuffie. _

"_Here, do Seifer." I whisper to my black-haired friend, handing her the bottle after I finish the job. Rinoa, who has the biggest schoolgirl crush on said blonde jerk-off, looks at me like I've just struck her and told her to go suck a lamppost. "C'mon! Hurry up!" I push her lightly in the direction of Vinnie-boy's roommate as extra encouragement. There isn't enough to argue about it! What better way to meet a guy than by covering him in shaving cream while he slept? That just screams 'I'm madly in love with you!'_

_Not that I am in love with Vinnie-boy. Ick. _

_At any minute, either one could wake up and ruin the whole plan! Speaking of…Vincent rolls over, smearing the white foam even more. He feels the wet substance with his hands, still half asleep obviously, trying to make sense of it. I, rooted to the spot by surprise, fear, and triumph, am pulled out of the room by Rinoa, my saving grace. _

_I hear Vincent swear grimly and pull myself out of the trance. I don't think I've ever ran as fast as I did then…_

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

"_Yuffie? What's wrong? What happened?" Rinoa jumps up from her perch on Seifer's lap. The minute I see him I turn and leave the room. I don't want to see him and I don't want him to see me like this. Rinoa calls after me but I don't respond. It's too hard. I had just managed to stop crying and thought I looked like nothing was wrong, but I should have known that Rinoa would see right through it. "Yuffie wait!" She cries. _

_Unfortunately she catches up and stops right in front of me, blocking any possible escape. At least she didn't freeze me again. She has a nasty habit of using her powers as a sorceress against me. Its obvious she isn't going to budge until I spill. I'm almost ready to tell her when she says first, "It's nearly the end of our last year here. Don't let him ruin it." _

_So begins the waterworks. I knew I'd be sad for a while and probably even eat a whole carton of ice cream (I could do that anyway without the heartbreak). But no one messes with the Great Ninja Yuffie. Nobody. Not even Vinnie-boy! If he thought a little shaving cream was bad…_

_z-z-z-z-z-z_

"_Are you sure you want to do this Yuffie?" My mom asks for the tenth time this morning. Her anxiety is starting to affect me too. I can't afford that. _

"_Mom! I promise I'll come back alright? Eventually. I'm just gonna go explore and stuff! I'm gonna send you tons of postcards. I just gotta make my life somewhere!" I explain (also for the tenth time) patiently. _

_She whines softly but smiles when I look at her. I feel a little pang of sadness and doubt as I cast another solemn look a round at the large meadowy field. My home. "I'll be back and I'll still be climbing trees. You will be forced to have another heart attack mom, no worries." I say teasingly, returning to my old, happy nature. _

_Mom just nods. I hug her tight, knowing it may very well have been a long time before I could see her again. But this is something that I have to do. I've been packed and ready for a week, I've hugged the entire family twice, and I've left instructions of the care of Trevor…it's time to go._

_z-z-z-z-z-z_

I woke up confused and sore. My surroundings were somewhat familiar I thought, though I couldn't seem to figure out why I was here or what had happened before I got here. I did know that my head hurt like hell and I was freezing. I sat up, looking around the dark, windowless, mirror less room. The bed was large and had that new feeling, like it hadn't been used very often. The taste of blood in my mouth jolted my memory.

I was in Squall's house…and I was dead. Undead. I carefully touched my eyeteeth, now sharp and deadly. "Super." I whispered sarcastically. "Now what am I gonna do?" I sank onto the bed. What was there to do? I was now a vampire…I was supposed to do vampirey things? Ha. Yeah. Sure. The right thing to do would be to find the Hunters and explain to them where I had been and…what I was.

The thought of that made me sick. Not necessarily that I had to tell them…just more that it would make what I had become more final. Immortal, undead, a blood-sucker, a vampire, a fangy foe…evil.

Nope. I wasn't going to be another Selphie. I'd stake myself…or make Riku stake me before I'd suck a guys neck off. I stood up, prepared to walk out without so much as a word to any vampire standing guard over me. "Breakfast! Straight from the Cell." A chipper voice from the other side of the door announced.

"I don't want it." I told the person, who was obviously Selphie, as I opened the door.

Her bright green eyes peered at me closely. "You're better?" She acted like we were best friends.

I scowled, wondering fleetingly what vampire tasted like. The thought of thinking that thought grossed me out. "Better? I guess you could call it that." I snapped, pushing her back. She stumbled a little, spilling what she called my 'breakfast' on her hand. She held a large glass of dark red blood. Oh yum. She licked it up, unphased, and apparently expecting a violent reaction out of me.

"It's hard now Yuffie, trust me I know. You'll understand soon. My advice-"

"Did I ask you for your advice, traitor?"

"Don't fight it." She continued. "And I'm not the only traitor anymore Yuffie."

Oh. That was a low blow and she knew it. I was tempted to punch her. "I didn't ask for this." I argued in a low voice. I ached to hit her. Just once and she'd be out. An even stranger ache overtook me when I looked once again at the blood. My stomach rumbled and I felt shaky.

"Here. Just drink it." Selphie smiled and held out the glass. I glared at it and brought my hand up to knock it out of hers but something stopped me. It was like holding a burger in front of a starving child. I was disgusted but at the same time I wanted the warm, sticky, salty substance and the way it left the copper/metallic taste on your tongue…I swallowed but lowered my hand.

"I'd like to leave." I told her.

Selphie nodded and pointed at the door. "We expected that." She replied easily. We. Squall. Where _was_ Squall anyway? The bastard that killed me. He knew I'd kill him if I woke up and saw him first. It was obvious she wasn't going to try to stop me and I though I was uneasy about it, I kenw I had to get as far away from that tempting glass as I could.

The first taste of human blood…that's all it would take. Like an animal, the taste of blood would bring savagery and I would be like the rest of them. I left, Selphie smiling simply as I went. Once outside, off the ladder and at the ledge, I wondered about my new vampire superpowers. Could I simply jump off without harm? Could I defy gravity?

Without really caring what happened, I jumped off. I couldn't die like that anyway, so what did it matter? Maybe I could learn to use this new strength to kill off the town's vampires! It hadn't hit me yet that I was now part of that majority. I landed on my feet easily, like I'd hopped off a simple step. Okay, so that was gonna be fun. With my Hunter strenth and vampire strength, I'd be practically invincible!

Not even Squall could be a challenge for me! Coincidentally, I planned to accept that challenge here before long…

_TBC_

_A/N: I know it was more of a filler chapter but…well. Here it is. Since this is Deplora's birthday fic (though it seems it'll end long long after her birthday already) I've decided she'll make a cameo near the end. –Maniacal laughter-_

_Also, I couldn't figure out how to spell 'savagery'. If anyone knows, please tell. Thanks!_

_Reviewer Thanks: You guys rock so bad. Seriously, I love you all. _

_Amanda/gothy_

_Alassea2_

_Kairiluv_

_The Evil Leprechaun – Oh my gosh thank you so much!_

_Azn-saphirestar_

_Bella_

_Qwicksilver_

_GrinningContrivance_

_DragonScales_

_Braken-Fae_

_Haiz14_

_October Breeze_

_NeonRaine_

_JoyBlue_

_Deplora_

_Classengurl_


	9. An Insider for an Insider's Job

_A/N: I'm afraid I led everyone to think that the Hunters reaction would be…intense. Oh, hate me not. (Sorry, I've got too much Macbeth on the brain) I got to thinking though as I was writing this. Does anyone else notice a little bit of Angel/Angelus in Squall (in my story anyway)? I must have unconsciously based him off of Angel…-grin- I don't suppose that's so bad._

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

_You always said Destiny'd blow me away_

_Well nothin's gonna blow me away_

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

"Yuffie! Where have you _been_?" Kairi exclaimed as soon as I reached the top of the stairs. She didn't wait for me to answer. "I was just leaving to look for you!" She turned to look at the house when I joined her. "Sora wanted to go with me but I talked him out of it." She lowered her voice, still looking into the window at the two boys. Both were at opposite ends of the room, silent and thinking. "They're still a little upset over the baby. And then when you disappeared…Riku was sure you were fine" She shook her head and looked at me for the first time.

If my heart had been working, it would have been pounding relentlessly. If she noticed something different about me then it would all be over. It wasn't that I was trying to hide it, I knew that was hopeless, I was just trying to stall it. Riku would know immediately, being a mind reader. I wondered if he'd even give me the chance to explain before he staked me. Kairi looked at me strangely but chose not to question anything.

"Well…go ahead." She said, though somewhat hesitantly as she opened the door. Yep, heavy suspicion. I nodded, not daring to open my mouth for fear I'd reveal my fangy side. She announced my arrival like it was important

Sora looked up abruptly. "Where have you been? You disappeared without so much as goodbye! You can't keep doing that! That's the fun thing about being a Hunter, we're a _team_. You just don't…" He trailed off, focusing his attention on the ground. Did he sense he'd overstepped his boundaries?

"Point is, don't run off like that. If we don't know where you are we can't help you." Kairi finished his thought for him, putting her hand on my shoulder. I slipped away from her quickly, shutting the door as an excuse. When I turned back to face them, Riku was on his feet, glaring at me. Aw hell. So much for stalling.

"You're bleeding." He observed darkly. My hand instinctively went to my scarf.

"Yeah…had a run in with a particularly nasty vampire." I smiled, being careful to keep my teeth from showing.

"On your neck?" Kairi questioned softly.

"Stay away from her." Riku said suddenly, pulling Kairi behind him. That remark did kind of hurt. I had no intentions of biting any of them! If he was such a mind reader, why didn't he read that?!

"Yuffie? How could you do that? _Why_ would you…" Kairi peered out at me from behind Riku's back, looking extremely hurt.

"Well it's not like I did it on purpose! I couldn't stop them!" I exclaimed, sitting down on the bed exasperatedly. No one chose to say anything and I wasn't about to volunteer any more information. I knew where that got me.

"I can't…I can't believe you're actually a vampire." Sora looked ashamedly interested in my new lifestyle, a change from the fear and anger in the others. I suppose that reaction was better than nothing. What were they supposed to say? Hey, your vampire's showing?

"Who did it?" Riku asked.

Like he didn't already know. "Squall, of course. He's wanted to do it forever now but I wouldn't let him…or he wouldn't let me not let him. Or something. Anyway, they ganged up on me and there was nothing I could do…even your friend helped." I looked Riku right in the eyes then. "It's a nasty cycle. They'll try to change you too…eventually."

My dark prophecy even surprised me. It was like my…condition linked me with the rest of them. I knew the reason and the plan. Being born a vampire instilled innate knowledge in me…if they could take over Traverse Town, they could take another world by storm. We would have a food frenzy…

We? They. I wasn't one of them yet. "Damn. Lost another one." Sora grumbled, putting his face in his hands. I couldn't help but think that I was never 'one' of them, though I'd never say that out loud. There had always been Sora, Kairi, and Riku but there was never me. Always them and not us. It wasn't that I was bitter about that since I never really made the effort to be part of their clique. I'd just depended on them to be there when it was convenient for me.

I never realized what I truly caused by opening that door. That one simple action cost the town their peace, the Hunters their routine, and me my life. I'd lost my life? I was _dead_. I wouldn't ever feel my heart beat again. I'd never lose my breath again. I would never be warm again. I was never going to be able to go home or see the sun or see my family…my mom again. Oh and not to mention I was technically _evil_.

Well, those were the cons. The bright side? I left to find adventure and I'd certainly found it. I had superhuman strength, superhuman hearing, and superhuman speed. I didn't need much sleep anymore either! Vampires could run for a week on two solid hours, as opposed to humans that needed sleep every night.

Either way I looked at it the cons outweighed the pros and I was just utterly, royally screwed. What was the point anymore? What was I supposed to do now? Up and join the darkside because there was nothing else I could do?

"You fight it." Riku said suddenly, interrupting my inner reality session.

"Get out of my head!" I glared at him, feeling my privacy being ripped away bit by bit. Riku stood firm, his eyes still severe and icy. "Argh. _You_ fight it." I grumbled in true 3 year-old fashion. I didn't want to mess with this right now, not ever. I was tired, sore, hungry, and fully pissed off. It was not a good time to pick a fight with the Great Vampire Yuffie.

Riku sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. "You do realize you aren't welcome here anymore, right?" He added, though somehow he sounded hesitant.

I nodded. "I knew that much." I laughed humorlessly. At least this conversation had gone much better than I'd been expecting. I'd braced myself for yelling, fighting, and a whole lot of butt kicking. On their end. I'd expected to end up _dead_ dead, or worse, in tears. I was lucky to have been able to explain it this far.

But as I stood to leave, a sudden idea hit me. I wasn't completely useless to them…not just yet anyway. I wasn't out of my sane, human mind yet and I wouldn't be for a while now, so why couldn't I still help them? "Hey! Maybe I could help your cause from afar? I mean, it's always good to have a spy in the business right? I'll pretend to be on their side and return to you with the information!"

Riku looked apprehensive. Kairi looked skeptical. Sora looked fascinated. "That's…that's not a bad idea." He said slowly, chewing on the idea carefully.

I clapped my hands in excitement. "Yes! Yes its failsafe!" The three stared at me. "Well, I'm not turning evil for a while now. Who knows, maybe I'll never go to the darkside! I'll come back in a few days though, to tell you what I've learned. Maybe I'll find something out about the Cell-"

"The Cell?" Kairi disrupted my plans.

"The Cell is where they keep the humans. I don't know anything more but I will." For the first time since I'd gotten here I felt like I had a real purpose. Granted I had to end up undead to find that purpose…"No worries guys, I'll be back. With my normal, human mind set." I smiled encouragingly, trying to erase their unconvinced expressions.

_I'll have to kill that Squall bastard before I really turn, so help me. _I thought viciously. I furtively glanced at Riku to see if he'd been listening in again but it didn't look like it. Think how many vampires I could kill. Think how many I could send to the Hunters and they wouldn't even know it until it was too late. "Fine? Okay? It's your turn to trust me." I grinned, opening the door to leave. _Finally_ it was time for some fun.

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

"Damn. You just can't seem to catch a break, can you?" Sora laughed sourly, patting Riku on the back as he sat next to him. Riku didn't respond to Sora's remark but he tensed at his touch, just staring at the door thoughtfully. It had been a long time since Sora or Kairi had had physical contact with him

"How long do you think she has until she turns?" Kairi looked a little uneasy about the can of worms she was opening.

Sora heaved a sigh. "Couldn't be longer than Selphie. Then again…she's awfully strong willed." He shrugged.

The silence that followed that comment dragged on for a short eternity until Riku broke it. "She'll help until she turns. Problem is, when she does, we'll have another Squall on our hands. Figuratively speaking. We'll have to-" He paused and got off the bed. He crossed over to the table where the weapons were and picked up Squall's wooden stake and fingered it. "We'll just have to go on like we had been, before Yuffie came along." He put the stake back down and looked at his friends.

Kairi glanced at the floor. "Do you ever just want to leave?" She asked quietly. "I always wonder why we just don't go home. I know we've still got so much work to do here but…"

"What I wouldn't give to see the sun again. Don't you miss the ocean?" Sora asked, joining in on the reminiscing.

"Yeah. Remember when you and Riku were having that contest to see who could stand the longest on the Paopu tree?" Kairi giggled.

"And Sora kept losing." Riku added, smiling a little.

"Until Selphie pushed you-" Kairi shut her mouth quickly. The reality of their situation came rushing back.

"Well. It wouldn't be the same." Riku muttered roughly, picking up the stake again.

"Where're you goin'?" Sora asked as Riku slipped on his belt.

"Out." He replied. Without another word he grabbed an extra potion and slipped it in his pocket, just before slamming the door.

Kairi jumped at the loud noise. Sora sighed deeply. "Oh boy." He groaned.

Kairi snorted and sank down next to him, letting her head fall onto his shoulder. "Think he would have really admitted it to her?"

"Of course not." Sora answered promptly, causing them both to laugh. "He would've just ended up bitching at her and vice versa. He just can't seem to pick 'em."

Kairi was quiet. "I…I really thought he and Selphie would…" She stopped short yet again.

"I thought he and Selphie would too." Sora replied, slipping his arm around her shoulder.

"He'll get over Yuffie. Just like he did Selphie! Right? I mean, they were practically rivals anyway. He just had a crush." Kairi rationalized, raising her knees to her chest and staring down at her toenails. They were a chipped pink color. _Time to repaint_. She thought distantly.

"Eh, Riku never has 'just a crush'." Sora snickered, poking her side.

"That's true. Didn't anyone ever tell him to…fly- hey! Fly the middle…stop it!" Kairi threw her elbow into Sora's gut to keep him from tickling her and jumped to her feet, standing triumphantly in front of him.

She hit a little harder than necessary. Sora coughed. "Hey, ow!" He clutched his stomach jokingly.

"Oh I'm sorry. Would you like me to kiss it?" Kairi grinned, a little more serious than Sora.

A slow smile spread across his face. "That'd be nice." He answered. "I certainly know how to pick 'em." He added as he gently pulled her back to the bed. Kairi giggled.

z-z-z-z-z-z-z

I couldn't be afraid, he'd sense it. I wondered if vampires picked up on lying too. I'd just to be careful…and convincing. It would be hard, after my little display just hours earlier, to persuade them all I'd gone to the dark side after such a short adjustment period. "Ouch." I muttered, pausing in my step to slow the ache in my stomach. Man I was hungry. I considered going to raid the café before pulling off my imminent award winning performance but the thought of real food made me even sicker. So this was the hunger.

If it was the last thing I ever did, I'd get revenge on that Squall bastard for killing me. I snickered to myself. I'd been referring to him as 'that Squall bastard' pretty frequently now. Had my remarkable wit been lost along with my human self? If that was the most despicable insult I could come up with…well then there really _was_ no point.

In the First District, near the Accessory shop doors, a few familiar vampires stood talking. I considered avoiding them but then remembered I was no longer human, therefore they no longer held a threat. No matter how many times I repeated it to myself, thinking about my newfound lifestyle always left a dull feeling in me. (More so than the absence of a heartbeat.)

I pushed those feelings away and used the mail drop as a stepping stone to the wall and easily found myself on top, looking down at the others. I stepped down to the pathway and headed up the small set of stairs toward the Second District.

"So how do you feel?" Baralai called to me. I recognized his indescribable yet distinctive voice right off.

I turned. "Like death slightly warmed over." I answered honestly.

The ever-familiar black-haired beauty, otherwise unforgettable as Lulu, looked at me with a mixture of hatred and curiosity. "Too bad. You'd have been good." She laughed. I shuddered because I knew she meant it.

"Quiet Lulu." Paine scolded calmly. Lulu glared at her. "If you ever have any questions or need any help…" She trailed off. Ha, right. But, evil as they were, vampires looked out for each other and I guess they felt obliged to do the same for me. I felt sort of bad that I'd end up killing them eventually. But only a little.

I wondered if I could take them all on right now and get it over with but decided against it. I wasn't sure how powerful I was yet and whether I could take 4 of them at the same time. Hell, I probably could but I wanted to start my spying before I started the killing. I had to get in good with them first.

"Actually, I did have some questions about this Cell-"

"Oh that's the Boss's area. If you want a steak dinner, you've gotta pay a heavy price, ya know? " Wakka cut in, waving off the question and looking expectantly at me for the next. Okay. So I would have to ask Squall about that directly. Wonderful.

"Yeah. Squall…" I muttered, lost in my own plans again.

"Yeah, he's been lookin' for you. I think it's sort of cute really." Lulu said (the disdain in her voice was thick as mud).

"What's cute?" I was brought back to reality with a crashing thud.

Paine crossed her arms over her chest. "The Boss's crush on you." She too acted as thought the word 'crush' left a bad taste in her mouth. Or maybe that was just her normally.

"Crush?" Ha, I couldn't even imagine Squall, cold-hearted asshole of them all, being 'fond' of someone, much less actually liking someone.

"Well-" Baralai started to say something else.

In true Squall fashion, a shadow landed between us. "Enough." He growled. "I asked you to find her, not befriend her." He added to Wakka.

Wait he what? Wakka looked embarrassed. "Yes sir. Sorry Boss."

Squall studied him for a minute, during which Wakka looked prepared to be decapitated. Finally Squall turned to me. His eyes were dark and angry. I felt nervous under his gaze but struggled to control it. He would know it and I couldn't afford that. "Let's go."

"Where?" I asked hastily. There was the glare again. It was probably better I didn't argue with him in the presence of the others. His manhood, er, vampirehood could be be compromised. I was now facing his back, and was just _aching _to stake him right then and there. Unfortunately for me and fortunately for him, I'd forgotten one. That Squall Bastard would live…for now.

I followed him away, hearing murmurs from the group like, 'He's gone soft since she…' and 'shh he can hear you'. Ah, superhearing. A very handy perk.

"A crush?" I inquired at a safe distance. Squall turned abruptly. Coincidentally, I ran right into him. "Whoa, hey! A little warning might-"

"Look Yuffie." He began, his harsh, boss tone turning into a firm, human-like sincerity that he seemed to save for Aerith (and only Aerith). "I don't care what anyone else tells you. You listen to me. I sired you because you are useful to me. Nothing less, nothing more. Understand?" His eyes bored into mine, leaving me unconfident, shaky, and a little weak in the knees.

I remembered my cause from some little voice deep in my preconscious and pulled myself out of the trance and into sly actress mode. "Oh." I whispered, gradually bringing myself to my tiptoes so I could almost be eye-level with his shoulders. I leaned closer, touching the collar of his duster tenderly. "That's too bad I…I kinda hoped that…" Best to leave them wondering I always heard. Squall looked ready to take the bait, even lowering his head even further. So it was true then…he was attracted to me. Ew! He was like…evil and dead and really really old! "Hey – how old are you exactly?" I backed away, retreating to my normal height, while also removing any possibility of kissing.

Squall's own trance broke and he too moved away. Back into sullen Squall he went. "I'm only 103 years old. I was 25 when I was brought here and sired." He answered, resuming his pace. I was forced to jog to keep up. I tried to imagine being 103 years old. I would be one day. With no children. I couldn't ever be a mother. Ouch. I couldn't tell if that pang was from the hunger or just sadness.

"Do you ever regret being the way you are?"

"No."

Well that was honest. "So you never regret not having children? Or growing old with the one you love?"

"If I wanted children, I'd have them."He answered me quickly and simply. Though thoughtful answers, they were carelessly tossed out as though he'd thought of this often and memorized the answers. I think it was to uphold his image of the tough guy. If I could just expose a weakness…

"But I thought vampires weren't…fertile." I continued choppily, trying to put it into terms that sounded halfway mature.

"They aren't."

"Then how would you…oh. Of course." I realized what he meant. He'd have his children the same way he'd have a lover. Dead and fangy. Ew ew EW ew ew. "Well, um. Ahem. Did you ever love anyone? You know, when you were human?"

The brisk walk continued for a short while, until he stopped again. Only this time, he stepped out of the way to avoid another crash collision. "I did. Once. She was…perfect. You remind me of her. Manic, inquisitive, obsessive."

"I'm not obsessive!" He just looked at me. I scowled. "Okay. So what happened?"

He leaned against the hotel doors and gazed at me thoughtfully. I, fully intimidated, refused to back down. So I simply stared back at him until he answered. "I left. I came here with Sir Auron, an Ancient. I didn't know he was a vampire. He was very cunning. No one suspected anything. He wanted me to come with him, to work in this new world. So I left everything behind to come here. I fully intended to bring her with me but…Sir Auron had other plans."

"What happened to Sir Auron?"

"He was killed. By your friend's father. The young woman, Kairi." Whoa, this was a huge revelation in the world of Yuffie. Kairi's father had killed an Ancient? Squall had a background? Squall had been in love? He shook his head and scowled, standing up straight again. "Come on."

"Wait, what was this girl's name?" I couldn't help myself.

He glowered in my direction, but once again I felt it was just for appearance sake. I was starting to peel away his barrier. Who knows, he could have been a nice guy underneath all that leather- WHOA! What was I _thinking_?! That Squall Bastard that killed me was not a nice guy underneath. He was an undead, wicked vampire!

"Her name was Lilly." He said finally. "You ask too many questions." He informed me. Aerith had told me the same thing.

"So…you would sire a baby…and it would be a baby forever. You would actually want that?"

"This is why I said I didn't want children." He replied. I growled in frustration. He was so difficult! Even more than me! This little spy mission was gonna _suck_.

And was I the only one that cold? It had seemed to drop 10 degrees. Squall didn't appear to notice. Maybe it was just me. I guess a sudden lack of body heat could do that to you. We were just hitting the Gizmo shop doors at that time and I was grateful for the little warmth it offered. Aerith glanced up from her perch on a lowered lift.

"Squall-Yuffie!" she looked surprised but pleased to see me in tow. I smiled, turning on an uber nice frame of mind. She was an emotion radar. That meant no nerves or anger or fear…especially no distrust.

It was at that time Selphie emerged from the office, cradling in her arms a tiny kitten. I gasped. "Lula." I whispered faintly. This kitten was gray. Lula had been black and brown.

"Yum. Food." Squall muttered, eyeing it.

I glared at him, shocked. He couldn't have been serious! Aerith laughed in her usual soft way and assured me, "He's kidding." Now that was a good one. Squall? Kidding? He just raised his eyebrows as he walked past the kitten to his office. "Actually we got you a little welcoming present." She explained as Selphie handed the little ball of fur to me.

"To…to eat?" I asked uncertainly. The kitten mewed, clawing at my shirt in terror. It clung to me and I melted. I could hear its heartbeat as well as feel it beating like a jackhammer. There was no amount of hunger in the world that could make me want to eat this little guy. It would figure my stomach would rumble just then.

"It's your choice." Selphie smiled brightly. "Didn't take you long to come around." She commented.

I smiled back. I was obviously not a good emotion detector; Selphie was reading 100 honest. "I knew I couldn't beat it, so there was nothing left to do but join it." I laughed convincingly and as far as I knew, they bought it.

And so the first hurdle was passed. They'd have to see me feed at least once to truly believe my loyalty…I was already dreading it.

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

_A/N: Well, this Lilly didn't play a HUGE role (since it wasn't a planned appearance) but hey, Squall was in love her back in the day! That's gotta count for something! Anyway, I know that this wasn't the whole ass-kicking back-with-a-vengeance vampiric Yuffie you all wanted to see but…hmph. Anyway, the next chapter is my favorite. I've been excited about it since I first wrote it. _

_Reviewer thanks:_

_Azn-saphirestar – The next chapter is the climax, though I'm afraid like this chapter, it won't be the big jaw dropping moment I hoped for. Maybe I just feel that way because I've read over that part of the story a dozen times and it doesn't hold quite as much oomph for me anymore. THANKS so much for the review!!!_

_Kairiluv_

_GrinningContrivance_

_Neonraine_

_Classengurl - -smile- Well um, see. Deplora's birthday was a looong time ago…I just kinda didn't get this whole story written in time. So its sorta like…this birthday present that is stretching til probably…well…2 or 3 more chapters. I don't know. It's almost over! –sob-_

_MariQ_

_OctoberBreeze – I've already told you about not hating me for the next chapter. _

_Deplora – The cameo wasn't near as exciting as it was in Pingy's fic, but it was a cameo nonetheless. And as for the reason for turning Yuffie…well…I don't think that will ever be clearly resolved. It'll just be up to your imagination…_


	10. Jealousy

_A/N: Let's pretend CDs exist in Yuffie's world…Also, please don't kill me._

_z-z-z-z-z-z_

_**Midnight Moonlight**_

_**Chapter 10: Jealousy**_

_z-z-z-z-z-z_

I sat on the steps, forcing myself to swallow the bite of lukewarm pizza I'd just nuked in the Café's microwave. It tasted like sandpaper with a little bit of rotten on the side. All real food tasted like this to me. And I was still starving. It had been nearly 2 and a half weeks now and the stomach pains were growing steadily worse. I was always tired now and pretty weak (for a vampire that is) and I think that was the only thing that kept me from just throwing the nearest wooden stick into my chest.

I tried to focus on the positive things about my newfound existence instead of thinking about all the things I couldn't do anymore. I'd been away from home for almost a month now but it felt like forever. I wanted nothing more than to just go back home and bury myself in my own bed in my own room, with my mom in the room next to me, listening to a couple of my 'missing' CDs. She never could admit that she liked my music. It violated some sort of 'mom' rule or something.

I missed her. I missed my dad and my brother and Mena… and I wondered how Rinoa was doing now. She'd been engaged to jerkface when I left. That was a divorce waiting to happen. Not that I was biased or anything.

I'd managed to evade feeding publicly by just saying I'd already eaten when they offered someone. Yes, someone. The Cell, I'd learned, was quite literally a holding cell for unfortunate souls that were captured from other worlds and brought here. Gummyship transportation was not limited to First District and apparently, there were a few carrier vampires that made frequent trips out to different surrounding worlds (making sure it was sundown there of course – wouldn't want to burn up) to gather up dinner. I still couldn't figure out where the Cell was. Squall kept that very quiet.

My initial thoughts on my new job as the Great Secret Agent Yuffie were definitely different from the reality. I wasn't able to kill any vampires hands-on, and when I did lead them to the Hunters, I had to do it carefully and quietly. It took a lot of energy to be subtle. If I was caught…Squall really would kill me. Unless he already knew. I'm sure he already knew. He knew everything and had eyes everywhere.

So why hadn't he done anything yet?

I took another bite of sandpaper pizza and sighed, looking out at the bare scenery of First District. It used to be so warm and lively. I changed all that. Now all there was was trash and bent lampposts and darkness, with the occasional vampire crossing. I'd left Lula with Aerith, the lesser of the two evils. She was the only one I really trusted out of all of them. I'd considered taking Lula to the Hunters, but I knew that would raise questions about my loyalty to the vampires. The risk was too great so Aerith won the debate.

I tossed the half-eaten pizza to the side and stood up, wiping my hands across my pants. I was just getting ready to head for Squall's house (now also my house) when the World doors opened. Immediately the smell of warm blood filled the air and my stomach, full of cardboard pizza, growled at me. I ignored it and looked around to see the newcomer. Maybe I could warn them off.

A short blonde entered and looked around, visibly uneasy at the sight. She was dressed in a way that told me she was definitely from a warm place. Her hair was pulled up in a blue headband, with braids and beads falling down past her shoulders randomly. Her poor excuse for a skirt was tan and revealing (revealing her green thong anyway) and her shirt consisted of a simple green bikini top. Her white sneakers contrasted greatly with her tan, though her skin color set off the deep green shade of her eyes.

Then she saw me and looked relieved. Poor oblivious woman. "Hi!" She chirped, jogging over to me. I unconsciously stepped back onto the steps, silently willing her not to come any closer. I was so hungry and she smelled really good. I was really starting to scare myself. How much longer could I hold out? Long enough to kill Squall. That's all I had to focus on. Revenge revenge revenge.

"Hi." I smiled, keeping my fangs hidden.

"What happened here? It used to be…cleaner." She shook her head.

I wondered if she knew about the vampires. "Ah. Yeah. It's been through a rough time." I replied, trying to keep a distance from her. It was hard since her personality was bouncy and apparently trusting. How familiar.

"Huh, looks like it." She snapped her eyes back to me. "So, maybe you can help me. I gotta find my dad and he lived here last I knew."

My heart dropped. Figuratively speaking. If her dad was one of the eaten or the turned…how was I supposed to explain that to her? "What's his name?" I hid my fear well; She didn't pick up on it.

"Cid Highwind. He worked at the Accessory Shop but it looks pretty run down." She looked above me at the broken, dark sign.

Shit. How did I know? Not only had Cid been sired, he'd also been killed by me. I searched for a way to stall her. I could tell her the truth of course or I could lie and say I didn't know him (Yeah that'd hold for all of 10 seconds. Someone'd tell her the truth eventually). I needed to get her away from the Town as soon as possible. Word (and smell) of a human would run fast. That quickly became my primary concern. "You have a gummyship?" I asked, looking around for lurking vamps.

"Hmm?" She followed my gaze, growing uneasy again. I could hear footsteps approaching from Second District.

And I officially had no time. "Look, you've gotta get outta here." I hissed, shoving her toward the World doors.

"Hey." She squeaked, shoving back.

"Go, now. Get away from me." I brought out the fangs at that moment, thinking it would be a nice scare tactic. It worked but not the way I'd hoped. She simply stood staring with wide eyes. I was going for the running and screaming hysterically, not the paralysis.

The doors opened, revealing two unfamiliar female vampires. They were here for the one thing I was trying to save. "Excellent, Lia. You were right." One of them whispered hungrily to the first as soon as she saw the human girl.

"Damn it, see what you did." I growled, mostly to myself, while grabbing the girl by the wrist and practically dragging her toward the exit. I felt her strong, rapid pulse beneath my fingers, literally feeling the blood as it rushed through her veins.

"Hey! She's tryin' ta steal dinner! Hey!" Lia yelled.

"Your father's not here and you won't be here much longer either if you don't leave!" I yanked the door open myself, knowing exactly what I said when I said it and how little it made sense. I felt the familiar breeze and knew one of the vampires had just superspeeded right on over. I turned, throwing the girl behind me as I did to give her free reign of the exit, and prepared for a fight.

"What're ya doin'? Yer lettin' the food go!" Lia pointed out in a low voice, as though sharing a secret between friends. She obviously sensed I was a vampire and thought I was her comrade.

I was aware that I was the only thing standing between then and the girl. And I wasn't exactly in the best condition at the moment so I was starting to get nervous. The girl wasn't running. "Go!" I turned to glare at her and was surprised to see two sharp weapons in her hands. It would figure.

"Aw, the human's gonna fight." Lia mocked, casting a grin at her partner. I noticed the partner didn't say much. She simply looked on in silence.

"Get away, both of you." I attempted a Squall-like snarl. I don't think it generated the same effect, but my raised stake got a response.

Lia looked shocked. "Yer one 'o us! Yer on our side!" She exclaimed, squinting at me. Suddenly her otherwise attractive face twisted into a horrible, knowing expression. "Oh I get it." She snickered. "Yer kill. We didn't mean ta intrude."

"Who cares. I'm hungry and she's human." The quiet one spoke swiftly and jumped over my head without warning, landing behind me in the blink of an eye. I spun around and plunged the sharpened wood perfectly into the flesh of her back, right in the heart. Vampirism had made me stronger _and_ a better aim. Sweet!

The vampire fell to dust right at the blonde's feet. She giggled. "Cool!"

I found this reaction strange but didn't have time to think about it. My murder had pissed off Lia, who lunged at me, aiming for the throat. And suddenly she was dust too, only this time it wasn't caused by _my_ hand. "Get the girl to the others." Riku stood behind the dust, carrying his own stake.

I nodded, no questions asked. "Let's go." I grabbed her again and pulled another Squall, leading her the back way at vampire speed through the districts.

"Where're we going?" She asked, trying to keep up.

"Somewhere safe." I answered, landing on the bottom step. The girl landed somewhat clumsily next to me. She'd had fighting experience but she was no Hunter. The house was in sight…and so were the vampires venturing out to get a whiff of the human. "Hurry, get in there." I made her open the door (stupid crosses burned the hell outta me) and shoved her inside, following.

"Yuffie? What-" Kairi jumped off the bed, tossing down her magazine. The shower was running. I figured it was Sora. I slammed the door shut and slid down to the floor, trying to ache and catch my breath. I wasn't used to using that much strength.

"She's Cid's daughter I guess. Riku-"

"Yeah?" The girl turned and stared at me expectantly.

"What-" I started to ask when the door opened and hit me on the head, hard. "Ow! Son of a…" I clutched my already aching head and glared at the attacker.

Riku looked at me briefly. "Sorry." He muttered, already looking at the girl.

"Hey, that was a killer intro back there!" She acknowledged him, nodding in admiration.

Kairi held up her hands. "What is going _on_ here?!" She demanded, glaring at all of us.

"First of all," Riku pointed with a stake at the woman. "Who are you?"

She smiled. "Oh yeah. I'm Rikku."

I cracked up. "Oh _that'll_ be fun." I snickered despite my injuries. That explained the confusion earlier.

"Yuffie." Riku held up his hand, signaling me to shut up.

"Fun?" Rikku asked.

"He's Riku too." I ignored Riku's little signal and stood up, though somewhat clumsily.

Rikku smiled brightly and jumped up and down. "That's so cool! How do you spell it?" She asked him. I could see Riku's subtle, surprised reaction to the bouncing young woman in front of him.

"Uh." He cleared his throat. "R-I-K-U."

Rikku stopped bouncing. "Mine's with two K's. Nice to meet ya." She stuck her hand out to shake his but he hesitated. We all knew why but she didn't. "Um, okay." She let her hand drop and turned to Kairi.

Riku looked away and crossed his arms over his chest. I felt a surge of pity for him followed by a strange and sudden sense of fondness. The shower water quit running and the sound of sporadic singing drifted through the door. "Sora." Kairi informed us with a shake of her head. She started to explain their being here, leading the still slightly bouncing blonde to a chair.

"Hey Riku." I whispered, reaching up to touch his shoulder but thought better of it. I withdrew my hand. "Let's go for a walk?" I phrased it like a question and knew he wouldn't turn it down.

He nodded after a pause and opened the door for me. "We're going for a walk." He announced to the others as he walked out. I waved to the others and followed. He had to shut the door (this whole cross thing was getting on my nerves).

"So you're following me now?" I began genially.

Riku tucked his hands in his pockets. "A little bit. Today was a good day to trail you. How close were you to feeding on her?" He cocked an eyebrow and waited patiently for my reply.

I scowled. "I was holding off! It's not so bad, the hunger I mean." I was lying through my teeth, a wasted effort. He could read my mind and chances were…he was.

"You blew your cover. You're supposed to be on their side."

"Squall knows I don't like other vampires. I can tell him they threatened me. He doesn't have to know about the human." Even I knew this wouldn't happen. Once again, I knew Squall had eyes everywhere. When the time came, I'd mess with that issue. "Well." I sighed. "Thanks. You did help me after all." I shrugged, folding my arms over my stomach to take my mind of its grumbling. Riku nodded. We stopped at the neon fountain and sat on the edge. I swished my hand through the warm water, watching the ripples wreck Riku's reflection. I had no reflection. "Did you read her?" I looked up at him.

I could almost hear his heart beating, but there was no fear that I could sense. He wasn't afraid of me like Kairi was. I found my mind wandering absently to his neck and how smooth and perfect it looked. Maybe he should've been afraid of me. I swallowed hard to focus back on his answer. "I like to get a good first impression before I find out what they really think. I want to see the good in people before I have to…" He glanced at me and smirked. "See the bad."

"Oh haha. Cute." I rolled my eyes. "So you really never touch people?"

"Rarely. I keep a guard up most of the time. It's just harder when there's physical contact involved." Thinking back on it, he never did touch any of us. The only time he had touched me what when he kidnapped me…and the time I grabbed him. Not even Sora or Kairi had seemed to touch him.

"How sad." I murmured out loud without even thinking.

Riku smiled. "Nah. I've gotten used to it." He shrugged, stretching his legs out in front of him.

I couldn't help my next thought. "So. How do you…ya know…" I asked impetuously. Riku looked at me, eyebrows gathered in uncertainty. I breathed exasperatedly. "You _know. _When you meet a girl and you really like this girl and you…do things to this girl…"

Riku got it. His eyes widened for a moment, then closed tightly. I noticed with bizarre amusement that he was blushing. "I don't think I need to explain that to…to you." He said, clearing his throat. He turned his head away from me, trying unsuccessfully to hide his Sora-esque smile.

"Right. Right. Totally out of line there. Sorry." I shifted. It was taking every ounce of strength I possessed (which technically was a lot) to keep my laughter from erupting. I was almost about to lose the battle.

Riku ran his hand over his mouth in an attempt to iron out his grin. He opened his mouth a couple times, seemingly trying to decide if he wanted to comment. He let his mouth snap shut after a few seconds, much to my disappointment, and shook his head. Then very quietly he said, "If I _could_ control it, I'dve already jumped you."

I knew I had heard him say it, but it was so unexpected and so out of character that it took me a good 10 seconds to figure out how to respond. Had I not been a vampire I wouldn't have been able to make out any of the comment. Eventually I said in a very conversational and nonchalant manner, "I kinda like this superhearing thing." _If only you **could** control it…_

"I kinda like the mind-reading thing." He replied promptly.

Flirting. It came incredibly naturally to me, especially with Riku. "Well anyway, you trust Rikku then." I decided Rikku was a safer topic than our potential sex life.

The air got a little colder. "She's not a Hunter, but she's not a vampire. We can trust her. She's awfully energetic though isn't she?"

"With no fear. She knows what I am but she doesn't seem to care. That was the only suspicion I had." Suddenly something clicked. "Wait, her dad's name was Cid. He was the old Accessory Shop owner. He must've told her about the vampires! That's why she wasn't surprised." This revelation brought back a crashing reality. I still hadn't told her that her father was dead and that I'd killed him. Damn it. Maybe I'd just leave out the 'I killed him' part.

"She'll have to leave soon." Riku looked up at the house on top of the stone stairs. Only a little was visible over the wall.

"You should go with her. You and the Hunters." I caught his eyes and held them with mine.

He shook his head. "We've got too much to do here." He answered, disconnecting our gaze. "We'll leave one day." A shrug and an uncomfortable cough.

All signs pointed to another subject change. It was so hard to find a topic that didn't make one of us uncomfortable. "So…Kairi mentioned you wanted to talk to me the other day." I remembered.

His eyes shifted to me, then back at the ground. "Yeah. Nothing now."

I didn't believe it for a second. The tone of his voice told me this was another one of those taboo issues so I was forced to try to find something else. It stayed at the front of my mind, nagging me. What was he going to tell me? Arg, it'd drive me crazy now. I shivered involuntarily. "Did you feel that?" I looked around suspiciously. The drop in temperature and the familiar smell of…couldn't be Squall. I was just being paranoid.

I felt something drop over my shoulders and jumped like a frightened cat. He laughed. "You sure are edgy." Ha, he didn't know the half of it. It struck me then how talkative he'd been. Usually it was a couple words and he closed up tight. And then he had smiled and laughed too! The world was ending! The Hells were freezing over! Moogles were flying!

I slipped his jacket off my shoulders and handed it back to him, aware that my hand brushed against his. "Thanks but-"

"He's around here you think?" Riku whispered, casually surveying the area. He looked at the coat in his hands and almost smiled again. Ah, the mind reading. Creepy as ever. "He sure does…" Riku paused and looked at me. "I wonder why. I need to figure something out. Do you mind?"

I shrugged and stood, prepared to give him some space. I had to go back and break the news to Rikku anyway…if Kairi hadn't done it already. "Yeah go ahead. I'll just be-" I felt him take my hand and instantly picked up on two ways it was wrong. For one, it was _Riku_. For two, he had that whole physical contact mind reading hang-up. "What?" I was ready to pull away, unusually worried about him knowing my thoughts. If any thoughts that I really didn't want raised to the surface, he'd be the first to know it. That quickly became the last thing on my mind a few seconds later. The first was –_Holy shit he's kissing me?_!- That was followed by various self-conscious thoughts such as '_Am I doing this right'_ and '_I sure hope no one sees us'_. And it wasn't like this wasn't like a short, awkward, uncomfortable kiss. It was a full-blown, passionate, profound, heartfelt kiss. He was a _damn_ good kisser.

I really stopped caring a few seconds into it, drawn into his warmth. His hand left my wrist and slipped into my hand. I let my free one caress his face, feeling him recoil just a little. I'm sure my hands were freezing. He was an excellent experimenter if this was his way of figuring something out. I felt his reluctance as he leaned back far enough to whisper, "I think he's watching." That's when I felt Squall's presence in a big way.

I didn't understand what Riku was trying to prove, but he could've proved it all day long if he wanted. And apparently he wanted. This time I enjoyed the kiss a little too much. There was a lot of fantasy going on in my mind at that point. Without realizing it, I imagined I was kissing Squall. His dark, angsty eyes staring into my own before pressing his mouth against mine in a fit of long suppressed passion, my hands tangled in his soft, chocolate hair, his lips trailing down where they rested gently against my neck…

Riku jerked away in surprise and brought his hand to his mouth. "I'm sorry!" I murmured, seeing the blood on his lips. Stupid fangs. I could taste the sweet, red substance in my mouth. My stomach ached desperately, begging me to dig in for more. I squeezed my nails into my own flesh to keep from doing something I'd regret.

Suddenly Riku was wrenched from my grasp, thrown onto his back a few feet away. I gasped and reached for him. "Don't move." Squall growled at me. _Damn_ he looked mad.

Riku struggled to his feet, fingers wrapped around a stake. Had he brought that along? Squall jumped over to him, punching him squarely in the jaw as he did. Riku got in his one hit, a puncture just missed the heart. "Stop it!" I yelled, using my own vampire moves. I pulled Riku off of Squall and stood between them. The dark vampire clutched his rapidly bleeding would, while Riku was trying to stop the gushing blood from his nose. It was all around me. It was dizzying, the smell , the glow…"Don't touch him!" I warned both men.

"I'll deal with you later." Squall hissed at me. Before I could stop him, he had Riku's own stake wrenched out of his grasp and had thrust it into his gut and twisted upward. It seemed to move in slow motion after that. Riku stood for what seemed like forever, eyes wide in shock, mouth open but no sound. Then he fell to his knees and began to cough up blood.

"Stop it!" I shrieked, grabbing two handfuls of the back of Squall's jacket and threw him back a few feet. I didn't even know I possessed that sort of power. He landed on his feet like a cat and dropped the bloody weapon.

"You won't hurt her." He told Riku harshly. I dropped beside my seriously wounded friend and tried to see how serious it was. I looked up desperately but Squall had disappeared. Fury built up in me, directed at no one but myself. I allowed this to happen.

Red blood dribbled down Riku's chin, falling onto the purple brick ground. He tried to stand up. "Don't." I murmured, voice shaking. "I'll…go get the others." I hesitated. A seriously injured human, bleeding openly in the middle of vampire city. It would be a virtual feeding frenzy! But if I didn't he would pass out or…worse. I ran and grabbed the top of the wall to pull myself over. Being a vampire once again was a big help. I beat on the windows to grab their attention and without even waiting, I jumped back off the wall. Riku began to cough violently as I approached, still trying to stand up.

I limped over (I'd hit a little too hard on the second jump) and fell to my knees, pulling him down with me very carefully. "Just be still for a second. You'll hurt yourself." I said gently, my voice trembling. He took the advice thankfully and laid his head on my lap. I started to run my fingers through his hair to comfort him. I didn't think it was working. I heard running footsteps behind me and knew it was the Hunters.

Sora also dropped to his knees beside me. "What the hell happened?" He helped the raggedly breathing Riku to a sitting position and draped his arm around his shoulders. "Get the other." Sora ordered without waiting for an explanation. I obeyed and we carefully lifted him up. Riku groaned. "Kairi, get Merlin here now. Rikku, you go up to the house and get as many potions from the bathroom you can find. Go!" I was so glad Sora was taking charge. I was too sick with worry to think straight. The blood on my hands was worry enough.

"Sora…" Riku muttered.

"What happened to him?" Sora asked as soon as the girls ran off to do their errands.

"Squall." I replied, trying to ease as much pain on Riku as possible. The journey was slow but we made it up the stairs to the house. Rikku had put towels on the bed (like an expert) and had assorted potion and healing gems replaced the usual weapons on the table.

She began bouncing again, fluttering to us and then back again. She reminded me of a bird trapped in a house. "Easy." Sora muttered, supporting his friend's back as we laid him onto his bed. I saw the concern well up in his eyes as he looked over the wounds. Once again, all my fault. I sat next to Riku while Sora studied the potions.

Riku reached for my hand and I allowed him to hold it. I didn't realize he was trying to break it. I gasped. "Ouch!" I gasped.

His grip released a tiny bit. "Sorry." I could hardly make out the word. He looked like hell. "Rikku, get me a wet rag." I glanced at the woman and hoped to make her useful. She jumped to and disappeared. When she returned with the rag, I carefully tried to wipe off his face (Sora had put some sort of elixer on him to put him to sleep) and avoided the wounds. His nose wasn't broken by some unknown miracle.

I finished that just as Merlin, the old wizard, came bustling in. "Oh my, I knew it was coming but I had to get some things-oh this is not-someone please get his shirt off. Be careful, some of it may be inside. If we heal him, it'll be infected." He immediately dumped his magic bag onto the table. Advanced potions along with even more complicated gems and assorted herbs fell out. I took the task of removing his jacket along with Kairi's help. She supported his head as I cut his shirt off with a shuriken. "You'd best leave." Merlin's beard twitched at the three of us girls. "It won't be pretty and he probably would rather this be private."

I cast a last look down at my sleeping friend and bit my lip. Reluctantly, I left his side and followed the others out.

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

_A/N: So. I wonder how many people I pissed off with this chapter. Or how many readers I lost. I'm sorry. But now do you see why this was my favorite chapter? One more chapter left…and an epilogue. I think I'll cry when it's over. You guys have no idea how much fun I had writing this story. You have **no** idea. _

_Okay, a few people have reviewed asking about the 'Naturally Silver' comment. 'Twas a very perverted moment. I don't exactly know myself how to explain it tactfully. If you don't understand it…I suppose it's much better that way. _

_Aha! You thought Riku would be the one she'd end up with at first didn't you…until her fantasy…but now she's so worried about him. Dead giveaway to her love? Will she turn Riku? Will Riku survive? Will she find the cure to her incurable vampirism? Will she give into the darkside? Will she kill Squall and commit suicide? And what will happen to Lula?_

_Stay tuned for the less than dramatic conclusion of **Midnight Moonlight**._

_Okay, I'll quit being a loser now._

_**Reviewer Thanks:**_

_Hoshisuzu: Thanks soooo much. I still say your spoof off of this is better than mine. Whoo!_

_Classengurl: No worries. There will be no more baby eating and not even I am evil enough to write a kitten eating scene. _

_Wolf Fangs: Your reviews made me laugh and they were very very nice! Thanks!_

_KairiLuv: Aw, thanks girlie!_

_October Breeze: Thanks for the review, and thanks to your friend for her comments. It would probably make more sense to her if she had read the story…but we've already discussed this! I'm. So. Glad. You. Don't. Hate. Me. _

_Qwicksilver: So I'm sure the Yuriku/Squffie fangirls in you are going haywire by now. Thanks!!!_

_Haiz14: Thanks for reviewing!_

_MysticAngel1: It took a few months to write this story completely…so I've got the right idea with writing a story first and THEN start the posting. Stressed feelings, writers block, and deadlines are pretty much erased at that point. GET TO WRITING SSTH AGAIN! I am dying for the Tykuness._

_Alassea2: Why **didn't** she kill him? That's a great question…-end cryptic moment- Alrighty, thanks!_

_Deplora: I couldn't forgive **myself** for letting Squall eat a kitten. Even I must draw the line at eating fluffy furballs of cute doomyness. I'm glad you liked your cameo._

_Joy Blue: I would be rather angry at Squall myself…more than afraid. He stabbed my Riku-kins! Except…I made him do it technically but…shutting up now. Thanks for reviewing!!!_


	11. Goodbye

_A/N: So it ends…_

_Disclaimer: I don't own KH, FF, or any of that other stuff. I also have no rights to My Chemical Romance. _

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

_And **the** collision of your **kiss** _

That made it **so hard**

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

I was completely alone in the Hunter's house, save for the steady breathing of Riku's deep sleep. I was grateful for the quiet rhythm; it seemed to keep me sane. The hunger was slowly eating away at my common sense, becoming intense. Kairi and Rikku were out at the cafe, gathering the days food supply. Sora had gone out simply to vent on a few unfortunate vampires. Rikku stuck around, saying that she wanted to make sure Riku made it out okay. I'd told her yesterday flat out about her father. She didn't scream or yell or try to kill me but she never did look at me the same since.

Riku was healing nicely, thanks to the care of Merlin. He had slept most of the night, waking only once this morning with the rest of us. He'd been asleep since then. The wound was just a red, scabby scar now and the cuts on his face were barely visible. It was amazing how modern advances in potions could work. I felt the most responsible to take care of him since it was my fault after all but it was hard to be alone with him. I saw him in so much pain and I ached even more with guilt.

Thankfully, the tears had forced their way out during this alone time. At least the others weren't here to see the Weakest Vampire Yuffie. I had never been much of a crier, at most a few sniffles. Just something about me I guess. That's not to say I didn't occasionally lose it – everyone did – but mine were more rare. Since it was the most embarrassing thing I could think of doing in front of anyone, it would logically start up now. I couldn't help thinking it was my fault. What in the world was I thinking, trying to help them. I was a vampire now.

What made me even sicker was the comprehension that despite the pain Riku had been put through, I didn't want any harm to come to Squall. The need for revenge had slipped out with the water falling from my eyes. I just felt tired now. And extremely thankful my friend was still alive. I had dreamt that he'd died last night, so somewhere unconsciously I was more than just a little concerned about him. All that blood…he would've died.

"Stop it." I heard a low whisper.

My head snapped up. Had I woken up Riku? Quickly I tried to wipe away the evidence of my breakdown and stood up. "Hey?" I said. My voice cracked. Yuck. I _loathed_ crying. Riku looked over at me…and laughed. Well kinda. It was more of a half-cough half-chuckle sort of thing. I smiled despite myself. "What?" I asked, heading into the bathroom to blow my nose.

"You. You look like hell."

Oh gee. How sweet. "And you look so much better." I said when I came back out and sat on the chair next to him. He smiled and sat up, slowly at first. I moved to help him but he shot me a look.

"I'll be fine." He mumbled. He made it up all the way and sat against the wall, facing me.

"Have a nice sleep?" I asked. He nodded. "Oh good. Did I wake you?" He nodded again. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"Right." In came the awkward silence. He seemed to be back to his normal, distrusting, quiet self. Super.

"You were worried about me. Are worried about me." Riku looked up suddenly, his eyes burning into mine.

"Well…duh. I mean, you got stabbed." I shrugged. Our kiss bubbled to the surface of my mind, along with an unrelated twinge of pain.

Riku's pale face grew pink. He was in mind reading mode. "I'm a little screwed up. Can't help it." Riku let me know quietly.

I cleared my throat. "That reminds me. What were you trying to figure out?" A nice way to take the pressure off of both of us.

Riku gazed at his hand, which was busy twisting and untwisting the corner of his white bed sheet. His hesitation confused me. He almost seemed uncertain about telling me. "Squall's in love with you." He said at last. "And that would explain the fit of jealousy…" He added with a glance at his battle wound.

Whoa. Talk about being hit by a ton of bricks. "What?" I exclaimed. "You're kidding me! That was the big revelation? You have to be wrong. Squall's just the jealous type – he'd have done the same for…for Aerith." I argued (quite desperately). He couldn't be right. I wouldn't let him be right.

"I read his mind." Riku said softly. And just like that I lost my breath. Everyone always said there are things you just know deep down. This was one of those things. I'd known Squall was in love with me but I refused to let myself actually understand it. Squall was evil and I was not. He could not love me and I could never love him. And that was that. "Actually, you do love him." Riku added.

He must have fallen and hit his head or something. I loved Squall? Hell, I didn't even like the guy. "Oh trust me-"

"Who were you fantasizing about when you kissed me?"

Oh. Oh oh oh. I had never despised his psychic-ness more than I did now. It hadn't even _occurred_ to me that he would have picked up on that. I blushed. "I don't know why I thought of him. It was a mistake. I could tell he was watching and-"

"You wanted to be with him instead." Riku finished with an infuriating smirk.

I scowled. "I'd hit you if you weren't already beat up. Which I'm sorry about by the way."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Apparently it was." I grumbled darkly. I sighed and looked out the window. The others would be back before long. I glanced back at Riku to find he was looking at me. Sighing heavily, I transferred my body to the bed, seating myself next to him. "Look Riku," I began, reaching for his hand.

_-I will **be** **there** _

_-**One** last **time** _

He accepted it, intertwining his fingers with mine. "We don't have to have this _talk_-"

"We aren't gonna have a _talk. _All I'm gonna say is…" I heard the District doors open and sighed. "They're coming."

"I know."

_-**And** when **you** **go**_

I turned to face him then, forcing him to look me in the eyes. If this was the time to read my mind, this was it. He would know everything I felt for him and I wouldn't have to say a word. "If things had been different." I said finally. That summed it up.

_-Just **know** that **I**_

_-Will **remember** you_

"Different. Exactly." He half-grinned. We sat there grinning foolishly at each other until he finally leaned over and pressed his lips against mine once again. I smiled against his mouth because I couldn't help thinking that the last time we'd done this, he'd ended up stabbed. For no reason at all I felt tears well up in my eyes. This was the last time I would be on the good side, I just knew it. It wouldn't be long now. I was giving up.

I receded back to my side of the bed, sniffling. "I've got to go. This is the second time you made me cry. I can't have that." I snickered, crawling to my feet. "I'll leave you to the rest of them." I had to go. I needed to think…and sleep…and talk. Talk to Squall, of all people.

_-I **lost** my **fear** of falling_

"I understand." He smiled. "But hey, it's been fun. I'm gonna miss you."

_-I will **be with you**_

"Don't talk like that! I'm gonna be back just as soon as you're better. You can't get rid of me that easy!" I declared, momentarily reminding myself of the old Yuffie. The Yuffie that I had been a month ago. Yet something felt wrong with that statement. Did he pick up on it too?

"Okay." He answered. He didn't believe me. Then again…how could I expect him to believe me when I didn't believe me either?

_-**I will** be with you._

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

I shut and locked the door behind me. Squall stood up as he always did when someone entered his office. "So." I sighed.

"So. Sit down then." He pointed to the chair and I did. He sat and crossed his arms over his chest, his dark blue eyes studying me. "So are you going to carry out your plan to kill me? Avenge your death?" He began the conversation without delay.

I snorted. "Well I was going to but I kinda gave it up."

"Why?"

"It's impossible isn't it?"

"And that's the only reason?"

What…what was he pushing me to say? I gave him a strange look. "That and the fact that you sired me because you're mysteriously in love with me." HA! Ha I am genius! That had to shut him up. Now he was the one asking too many questions.

"It took you a while to figure that out." He replied smoothly. "And you feel the same way about me?"

AHHHHHH! "I know nothing about you. Except you're dead…and evil. And you stabbed my friend."

"He deserved that?"

"And how do you figure?"

"He was hurting you." His eyes darkened briefly.

"Hurting? C'mon you aren't that old. It's called kissing." I joked.

He didn't even crack a smile. "He was going to hurt you. You saw the stake he was carrying when we were fighting didn't you? You meant it when you kissed him, but he didn't." I avoided my fantasy of Squall and I kissing. That was when I'd really enjoyed it…but he didn't need to know that. He _never_ needed to know that.

I scoffed. "So you saved me from heartbreak by stabbing him instead?" I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay. Whatever, I give up. I've got nothing else-" I winced as my head suddenly throbbed with pain. I was hungry. Starving. Ravenous. Ready to kill for food. I fought it anyway.

"Are you ready to trust me now?" Squall asked, voice hinting at triumph.

"I'll never trust you." I replied honestly. Ow…ow…I was going to pass out. Being around Squall made it worse. Speaking of, he stood. I did the same, much more carefully. "I have to…I need to go for a walk…" I think that's as far as I got. Next I saw was the dark threads of the carpet. I was in the process of figuring out what happened when I felt a heavy hand on my back.

"Yuffie? Can you hear me?" _Yeah I can hear you…just who am I hearing? _The hand left and a door opened. Oh yes…I was in Squall's office and I had just blacked out. More voices came as I brought myself up on all fours.

"Look at the weight she's lost." A dark voice this time…ah Cloud.

"Let's get her up to her room. She'll be fine won't she?" So Tidus was with them too?

"I can hear you." I muttered, glaring up at the three men.

"Yuffie." Squall leaned down next to me and studied my face. "When was the last time you fed?" I simply looked at him. He shut his eyes briefly, evidently to gain control of himself. "She's starving." He announced, looking at Cloud. "Get her someone good."

Some_one! _Hell no. "No no no, I'm not feeding. I won't. I refuse." I jerked away from Squalls touch and got tentatively to my feet. I was light headed but well enough to keep upright.

"Get it." Squall said anyway and Cloud disappeared. "Think you can get to your room?" He asked, drawing himself to his full height.

I nodded. "Of course I can." I wasn't quite sure what I could do.

Squall noticed this. "This is your fault you know. If you'd just eat you'd feel fine." He scolded. Any other time I would have dragged him to hell and back for a condescending comment like that but at the moment I really didn't care. Whatever. "Yuffie?" He looked at me closely. I guess I must've looked pretty out of it.

"Hey I'm fine." I could feel my will slowly ripping away. Food sounded so…so good. On the way up to the house, I slipped a little on the ladder.

"Easy, I've got you." Squall muttered from below. I trusted him enough to know he would at least catch me if I did fall. I allowed him to lead me to the room they called mine and sat on the bed, bending over my knees to let my head hang off the edge. I felt strangely better. "You'll be okay soon." His voice was quiet and reassuring, a tone I didn't know he possessed. For whatever reason, that started the waterworks again. Twice in one day? This happened like once a _year_. And the weirdest part was I didn't care if he saw me crying or not.

Vampire or no vampire, a crying young woman still made Squall nervous. He cleared his throat and crossed over to the doorway. Probably to give me privacy. Cloud came in at that moment and they spoke quietly. The door closed again and I saw two heavy boots stop in front of me. "Sit up." He commanded. I did. "Drink this." His hand held out a tall glass of salty smelling blood, dark purple-reddish and warm. It took every ounce of self-control that I had in me to turn it down. _Just take it Yuffie. One glass, get some strength back then go back to the good side._ I could totally handle that. "Don't make me force you." Squall looked down at me. The shadow of a smile crossed his features.

Hunger won over will power (I'd never had much of that to start with) and I drained the glass in a matter of seconds. I have to say, as much as I wanted to hate it and be different from the rest of them, I couldn't even be guilty about it. It was absolute instant relief and I couldn't wait to have more. "Where's the rest?" I asked, handing him the empty glass.

He smiled. Fully, completely smiled. "I'll get on it." He nodded to me. "You should rest for now."

I glared at him. "This doesn't mean I'm on your side." I growled.

He just nodded. "Of course not." He didn't believe me but I didn't mind. I was hungry and tired and this bed was so comfortable. I was asleep before Squall returned.

z-z-z-z-z-z-z

"Squall?" A tentative knock at the door. There was no answer but she opened the door anyway. The Boss sat quietly at his desk in complete darkness.

"Yes Aerith?" He finally asked, sensing she wasn't going to leave.

Aerith sat in the chair and leaned forward. "You're worried." She observed in the least patronizing way.

Squall's eyes flickered to her. "Not really."

"About Yuffie? Squall. She's tasted blood." He averted his eyes at her words and she attempted to catch them again. "She's not going back to them. She's changed Squall. She's ours now." Squall stood suddenly, startling Aerith. There was laughter outside on the street. He began to pace behind his desk, trying to say something but never finding the words. Finally she caught on. "She's ours…but she's not yours." Comprehension was quickly replaced by a smile.

Squall glared at her. "If you repeat that to another soul…" No threats. He'd never threaten Aerith. He was tough, stoic, and usually unfair but he never treated his friends with anything less than respect.

"Don't worry. Your reputation is safe with me." She held up her hand. "But honestly. She'll come around. Right now she's just confused." Aerith's attempt to comfort him only worried him more.

"Did you…did you see how much weight she had lost? You could have just…snapped her in half if you _breathed_ at her wrong. She'd never have eaten at all if she hadn't fainted and I hadn't forced her…"

"I agree, it is strange how badly it affected her in such a short period of time. Like you said-"

"She's different."

"Right." Aerith walked over to him and gently put her hand on his shoulder. He tensed briefly, always uncomfortable with touch. "Just give her some time okay?" Squall nodded.

What neither of them knew was that the object of their discussion was listening in from outside the door…

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

I knew what I had to do but it didn't make it any easier. I was totally dreading it but I knew I was slowly losing my grip on morals, values, and my human mentality. I had to tell them to leave…to get out. I had to warn them before I was completely gone. I quickened my pace. The closer I got to losing myself, with every swallow of blood I took, I knew it was only a matter of time before the town was completely overrun, the Hunters last resort fallen to the dark side.

They had to get out while they still could. Fight the good fight but the good fight was over. And for the first time in my life, I realized how many fairy tales had lied to me. Good wasn't going to win over evil. A tough life lesson to swallow. Yet, I looked at the evil side with grinning pale faces and gleaming fangs…it seemed so easy.

Once I was there I'd never have to worry again. I only had to do one thing first. "Riku! Sora!" I knocked on the door between the crosses. After a few seconds the door opened.

"Yuffie?" Sora stood in the doorway, staring at me.

"Hey…Sora. We need to talk."

z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

"It's for the best right?"

"Totally the best. You'll be happy. You all will." I hugged Kairi a little tighter.

"And you'll be fine here?" Sora asked, next in the line of good byes.

I snorted. "Here in a couple days, I'll be right in my element." What a sad thought. I really was giving up. Well, there was nothing else I could do. This way we'd be happy. Positive over negative. Rikku and I had said goodbye earlier, she was starting up the ship.

My last was Riku. I was hesitant to hug him, even though I wanted to. Ever since that day our relationship had been off in a big way. "Thanks then. You know, for taking such a beating for me." I laughed nervously. "Forget to visit."

He nodded, smiling slightly. "Oh we will." We all decided it was for the best if Traverse Town was forgotten. Squall had plans for the future of it; I was positive it didn't include the Hunters. This way the three of them could live their life in peace and have a chance to be normal now that the point of protecting the humans in First District was erased.

I could have the chance to be normal….normal for what I was, anyway. I decided to hug Riku anyway. Not like it mattered anymore. He hesitated. _So you never answered me. Is **all** your hair naturally silver? _I thought, grinning.

He laughed, quickly turning it into a cough. "Completely."

"Aw, come on! You weren't supposed to actually answer!" I shook my head to rid myself of the image as I left the hug.

"Hey you asked!" Riku shrugged, blushing when Kairi asked what was going on.

"You guys should go. See you…someday." I quickly detached myself from any possible sad feelings. Only good.

"Not if we can help it." Sora mumbled, tossing me a cheesy grin.

"Hey, ships up and runnin'! Last exit!" Rikku bounced through the doors.

"Bye guys!" I waved as they piled out, carrying the last of their belongings. And then the door clicked shut. There went my last reason to cling to the good. Ha. Freedom was actually kind of nice. I sat down right in front of the doors, staring at them, remembering meeting them…coming to Traverse Town for the first time. I had no idea…

But would I change anything? Who was I kidding? I'd would've rewound time in less that a heartbeat. But this was the path I was supposed to take (doomed to take to be more precise). Might as well enjoy it.

"So they're gone." Squall's voice nearly scared met to death…again!

I glared at him over my shoulder. "Stop doing that!" I warned, standing up. I couldn't help but notice he was cradling Lula in his hands. It was a cute yet oddly creepy vision; Mr. Big Bad Vampire Man holding something so sweet and innocent. "I have to spend an eternity with you. I can make it a miserable one." He looked a little unsure and kinda worried. "Second thoughts?" I asked, pulling Lulu to my chest where she promply dug her little claws into my flesh. I flinched.

"Never."

"We'll see if you feel the same in a couple years." I laughed, knowing it'd be more than a couple of years that we'd be together.

"So when will you finish mourning?" Squall looked down at me, almost smiling.

I paused. "Give me a…okay I'm over it." I shrugged. I was pretty much ready to accept my new eternal life. Pretty much. There was still a part of me that wished the Hunters were still in their little house in Third District, just waiting for me to come visit whenever I felt like it. I had a new life now and I couldn't dwell on the Hunters forever though. I'd _really_ go crazy. I then did something unexpected; I hugged Squall, being extra careful not to fully squish Lula. "I hate you." I informed him very seriously.

Squall never moved. "Yes I know." He replied, patiently waiting for me to get it out of my system and let go. When I did we walked back to our home in silence.

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

_A/N: It's over. No epilogue. Nothing. That was the end._

_No actually, I'm not serious. Please lower your frying pans of doom, the epilogue will come soon enough. Though this was a rather crappy ending. I couldn't end it with it as a Yuriku cause…I just couldn't. I wanted to but I couldn't. Maybe this ending isn't as bad as I think it is…it certainly wasn't TOO predictable._

_GrinningContrivance: Actually, you should read some of Vulpes Lapis's stuff with Riku/Zephyr. She's an OC but she's a good one. Also, you should read 'Sea Salts To Heal' by Mystic-Angel1. The Tynan/Riku (Tyku) is very cute and very good. Read. I recommend. _

_**Reviewer Thanks: I'm sorry if I missed anyone…I love you all so much!**_

_**The Evil Leprechaun**_

_**Hoshisuzu**_

_**Qwicksilver**: I felt the same way about the pairings. I still don't know if it was the right decision._

_**Meranii**: I think I nearly died laughing at this review. I never thought you of all people would say any of that…wow. And when you do write one, I SO wanna help. _

Alassea2 

_**Adalai**: THAT was hilarious! Thank you._

_**Wolf Fangs**_

_**Haiz14**_

_**KairiLuv**: In response to your email, I would SO make it longer (in fact I considered this) but the truth is, I don't know how else I would drag it out. And if I end it now, I'll leave everyone wanting more instead of leaving everyone sick of it (case in point: Child's Eyes). I considered a sequel (you'll see why) but I don't think I'll ever beat this story, review wise or interest wise. I SO had fun with this story and I'm sad to see it over but I fear that it must. But thank you so much for the email, you totally made me feel so much better about my writing._

_**NeonRaine**_

_**Joy Blue**_

_**DidiKiwi**_

_**Me/Nambe**_

_**Azn-saphirestar**_

_**Mizukithepanda**_

_**October Breeze**_

_**Classengurl**_

_**Deplora**_

_**Mystic-Angel1**: Scars ARE hot. And when you end SSTH I will cry too. But this I will not think of. Actually, I was gonna ask you that…maybe I could possibly borrow Tynan for the next chapter? Credit fully to you of course but…_

_**Now I must go post this chapter before I chicken out and just never finish it period. **_


	12. The end?

z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

You wanna follow somethin'

Give me a better constant lead

Just give me what I need

Give me a reason to believe

z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

The seagulls flew over the ocean, calling noisily to each other. The day was like most days on Destiny Islands with clear skies, blue water, and white sand. The sun, something Sora and Kairi never took for granted again, shined down on them warmly. Kairi sighed contentedly as she leaned back into her lover's arms, looking at the water. It had been a short 2 months after their return to the Islands, but it had been the sweetest time they'd ever known.

Sora rested his lips against the soft hair of the young woman in front of him. "This is nice." He mumbled. It had never occurred to him just how much he'd missed his home. He'd missed the feeling of sand between his toes and the way the sun felt warm against his skin. He'd missed the feeling of cold aloe vera gel against the sting of a sunburn. He'd missed spending hours at a time swimming, catching fish, diving off of Paopu Island. He'd missed the taste of coconuts and the peaceful simplicity of his life. The fact that he was a Hunter was irrelevant here. He could just be himself without all the hassles and stresses of fighting to stay alive.

Kairi let a handful of sand slip through her fingers onto her thighs and watched as it slid back to the ground. She glanced up at the brunette and smiled. "It is nice isn't it?" She cast a fleeting look toward Paopu Island, where Riku sat deep in thought on the bent tree. It had always been his favorite spot to brood…and he'd been doing a lot of brooding recently. Kairi sighed. "How long do you think it'll be before he gets over it?" She asked quietly.

Sora, though his mind had been on a completely different subject, knew immediately what she was talking about. "Knowing Riku…it'll be a while. We've just gotta give him some space."

"Right." Kairi nodded. She bit her bottom lip. "So you don't think we should like…talk to him about it or anything?"

"Definitely not. He'll have to get over her on his own." Sora said confidently.

Kairi sat up abruptly, twisting around to look him in the eyes. She wore a gleeful smile on her pretty, young face. "You said it first!" She exclaimed in delight, her blue eyes sparkling.

Sora tried to repeat his words in his mind to figure out what bet he'd just lost. "I…what?"

"_You_ said _her_!"

"I didn't!"

"You _so_ did! Whoever mentions her when referring to Riku first remember? I win." Kairi announced, patting Sora's knee.

Sora stuck his tongue out at her. "I still don't think I said 'she'."

"Ooh poor Sora. Losted his very own bet." Kairi giggled in an annoyingly superior baby voice.

He growled and planted his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him. "What'd we bet anyway?" He asked, cocking his head to the side with a charming smile. Kairi was used to this display though and it no longer affected her like it used to.

"Oh no silly, I'm not falling for that look." She declared, touching the tip of his nose. "You still have to do my laundry for a week. And so help you if I find you holding any of my underwear hostage. Again."

"I told you before, I don't know how it got in my drawer! An honest mix-up I promise!"

"Mmm. Well, no more honest mix-ups. Deal?"

"Fine." Sora sighed in defeat, laying his head against her shoulder. She giggled again and petted his spiky hair. For the past month, the two had been living together in Kairi's house. It hadn't been much of a change from Traverse Town's arrangements, since they'd been together then too and had gotten used to the bothersome habits they each had.

The three of them had normal jobs now (demon hunting/slaying put on a permanent hiatus) and had normal problems. Adjusting to their old life hadn't been as hard as they'd all expected. As far as Sora and Kairi were concerned, well, there _were_ no concerns. Riku, who'd fallen a little harder for the Town (and its certain inhabitant), was having a little bit of a rough time dealing with the culture shock.

Sora thought this was pretty normal and he would get over it eventually, but Kairi had other worries. She knew Riku just as well as Sora, but as a girl she was much more inclined to pick up on the little things. She was troubled by his worsening introverted tendencies. He was withdrawing from the two of them more and more, which was very unlike him. He and Sora hadn't even sparred in weeks, an achievement Kairi thought was not possible. Sora jokingly referred to Riku's newfound reclusive attitude as 'sun-shock'. Kairi hadn't found that nearly as funny as he had.

"What're you thinking about?" Sora asked. He'd been watching his girlfriend stare blankly at the ocean, deep in her thoughts, for a few silent minutes.

Kairi blinked, bringing her eyes into focus. "Nothin'." She replied simply, shaking her head. She cast a glance at her isolated friend once again.

"You have to quit agonizing over this. Riku'll be fine." Sora reassured her for the thousandth time.

Kairi sighed deeply and nodded. "I know I know I just…" She shook her head again, letting the short, red locks whip around her face. "Somehow I'm just not so sure anymore."

z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

I stood with my arms crossed over my chest, swaying back and forth as I stared out over the Second District from our living room window, particularly down at Lulu and Wakka. Lulu was upset about something and was laying into Wakka like he was the anti-christ himself. Judging by Wakka's tail-between-the-legs reaction, he'd really done something wrong or he just knew how to appease her when she was angry. "What are you looking at?" Squall's deep voice questioned from the direction of the couch, followed by the sound of a book snapping shut.

I turned slowly, tearing my eyes away from the window and letting them lock onto his turbulent blue ones. He was sitting comfortably on the black leather sofa (would you expect anything less from Squallie?), a hardcover book resting on his left knee. His expression wasn't quite as dull as usual, actually he looked interested in my answer. This sort of phenomenon had been happening quite a lot. In the privacy of the house, of course. He'd rather behead himself than show any sort of emotion in public – God forbid, PDA – but he was sort of human-like once I got him behind closed doors.

"I was watching Lulu and Wakka argue." I told him, leaning against the glass. The chilliness of it passed through my shirt and felt warm against my back. It was an interesting thought, to be 'colder than glass'.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Lulu's telling him what for. Any idea what the problem is?" I glanced over my shoulder back out the window to find that the couple had disappeared.

"Not a clue." Squall replied. He motioned for me to sit next to him but I shook my head. I didn't feel like moving. He didn't take my rejection as serious. I watched as he climbed to his feet and sauntered over, leaning against the wall beside the window. I looked up at him, studying his profile. I liked to look at him. Who wouldn't, after all? He was freaking gorgeous. Unfortunately, he didn't like me looking at him. "What?" He glanced at me, his navy eyes narrowing slightly. He was, though, the most paranoid vampire I'd ever known.

"Nothing! I was just looking and thinking and…thinking." I shrugged, looking forward again. Then I took a deep breath. "Are you happy? Now? I mean now that you have the whole town to rule under your thumb and no Hunters to mess it up?" I looked out the window this time and continued without waiting for his answer. "All this is yours now, Squall. It's been yours for two months and you…you haven't done anything with it. Things are the same as ever and…and I was expecting this great new turn for the town. Maybe…I don't know. A tourist attraction for vampires. Spruce the place up a bit and get word out that Traverse Town is open for business and under new management. Ya know?" I really hadn't meant to ramble on like that but once it had started it didn't stop.

Squall stood silently for a few minutes, leaving me to wonder how stupid my speech must have seemed. Of course he didn't want to turn this into an amusement park of sorts. He was all tall, dark, and serious, not the mayor. "It's not just mine. It's yours…too." He said finally, his eyes never leaving the wall in front of him.

"Aw." I smiled, playfully shoving him. He slid to the side and had to reposition himself against the wall. "That as pretty heartfelt for a guy with no heart."

"I have a heart." He argued. "It just doesn't work." He added after a moment, casting another almost smile at me. He was awfully affectionate today it seemed, which was pretty pathetic if this was his idea of affection. But I was slowly getting used to the cold quiet of his personality.

I impulsively stepped in front of him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, forced to stand on my tiptoes to reach. He reacted in a flash, grabbing my shoulders and spinning me around so that I was pinned to the wall. "I'm happy." He whispered against my neck, his teeth brushing across the skin, sharp but not threatening.

"Don't bite." I warned, punching his stomach lightly. He obeyed reluctantly and brought his mouth to mine instead. He was a bit of a control freak and always liked it rough, but this didn't bother me too much. I was strong-willed when it came to him and told him straight up when he was crossing the line between love and preying on a victim. 103 years of no affection…well it showed. I didn't mind the rough part at all though, considering I was just as rough.

Kissing Squall was really nothing like the fantasy I'd had with Riku, but it definitely wasn't disappointing. I wasn't in love with Squall yet, partly because I couldn't let go of that last shred of humanity I had buried deep within me and not even Squall could kiss that away. Another small part of me was still in deep, deep like with Riku. That was the part I wanted to let go, to forget about, to not feel. I wondered sometimes if the two parts were interlocked with each other, if maybe my humanity stemmed from my feelings for Riku. If I lose one, I lose the other and I didn't want to lose both. Squall suspected, I was sure, that I wasn't over ol' silver haired hunter dude but he never said a word one way or the other.

If he had any hurt feelings or bottled in anger at either of us, he never showed me. He'd never shown me a vulnerable side, come to think of it. Not even now, as his cool hand caressed my face, his cool lips exploring mine, there was no tenderness from within. He was dead. He was evil. He was a vampire. But he was undeniably in love with me and I wished I could return that. I must have been wishing pretty hard because Squall pulled away suddenly, his face hovering centimeters above my face.

"Not right now." He murmured, releasing me and walking back to the couch. He picked the book back up, muttering to himself.

I was left wondering what had happened. "Uh…"

"Aerith is expected any time now. You can't start something we can't finish." Squall explained in a low voice.

I grinned slowly. "What…what did I start?" The innocent little 19-year-old Yuffie act didn't fit me anymore. Squall gave me a level stare, his lips almost curving into a small smile. "Did I…get a _rise_ out of you?" I taunted, sauntering over to the couch. He looked up at me darkly. "Did I…make you _happy_?" I was enjoying this teasing a little too much. It wasn't often he gave me something to work with. "Did I make it…hard for you to concentrate?"

"Yuffie, enough." Squall looked back down at his book, pretending to read. It took him a few seconds to realize it was upside down the whole time. I never said a word as I watched in utter amusement as he slowly turned it right side up and played it off as though he knew it had been upside down the whole time.

After a long silence I grew bored all over again. "Fine. I'm going out then."

"Out where?"

"Out_side_."

"Thank you. I meant where outside?"

"I know what you meant and its not of your business." I loved pissing him off even more than I did teasing him. Even though he knew it, he still allowed himself to be sucked into my stupid word games. I knew he wasn't as big of a bad ass as he acted. Sometimes I thought he would have made a good father or husband, if he hand't been hardened by centuries of murdering humans. Periodically, small, microscopic slivers of light came poking through the shell of darkness he'd plastered around himself.

But my hopes weren't coming up anytime soon. Every time a hole showed itself, he plugged it back up. I was still trying to commit myself to breaking that shell completely. I just didn't know if I was up for the hundreds of years of conditioning that were put before me. I was still coming to terms with the whole eternity idea as it was. I was gonna have a lot of time on my hands and I didn't know if I wanted to waste it on Squall. He could have been an evil prick when he was human too for all I knew, and I would have just wasted all those years for no good reason.

"Actually, it is kind of my business. It's my town, remember?"

"Ah, but you already screwed that line up with the whole 'it's ours' routine. Remember that?" He glared at me then and knew he couldn't argue. "Don't you love it when a temporary lapse of kindness just comes back to bite you in the ass?" I grinned at him roguishly over my shoulder as I gathered my jacket from the coat rack and slipped it over my shoulders. I still wasn't used to being cold all the time.

Squall rolled his eyes and scowled darkly, replying with a sharp, "Sort of like how I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"Oh that's _cold_ Squallie-boy." I shrugged it off, knowing it was his last grab at dignity. He should have known that every shred of dignity he'd formerly possessed now belonged to me to be torn and returned at my discretion.

Welcome to love, Squall.

Eternal love, no doubt, which was even better. Any revenge I could have dreamed up for the dear Vampire-Man could not have measured up to this, being _stuck_ with me forever. And ever. Til dust do us part. Insert crazed maniacal laugh here. He didn't bother me about my going out anymore, returning once again to his book, so I left.

z-z-z-z-z-z-z

"Yuffie! We let out a few of the humans and we're playing a little bit of tag…you wanna join?" Selphie's voice was as bouncy as her hair and just as unmistakable. I looked at her for a moment, trying to decide whether I was up for a game or not. Behind her, Tidus sat on the roof of the Accessory Shop, like a cat stalking its prey. I could almost envision a tail twitching behind him.

"Thanks Selph, but I think I'm gonna pass today. Don't catch em all though, save some for the rest of us." I shot her a grin, which she returned, and waved at Tidus. He nodded in response and opened his mouth to say something to me, when something else caught his attention. He looked behind him, down at the ground.

Selphie, who must have heard the same thing, jumped up onto the shop sign and used it to pull herself onto the roof next to Tidus. She held her finger to her lips and smiled lightly. I knew the chase was on again and, since I didn't want to intrude on their fun, I turned and headed for the Third District doors.

And anyway, I wasn't completely sure that I would be able to go through with the whole eating thing after I caught the human. I still made Squall get my food for me and I took it in a glass. I wasn't totally ready to kill on my own yet and I didn't think I could deal with drinking from a _dead_ human either. There definitely wasn't any denial. I knew I was on the dark side and there were no spy missions or ideas of one day returning to my human form or dreams of Riku coming back to sweep me off my undead feet (okay so there were a _few_ dreams of this one). Nevertheless, I was new to vampirism and there were certain evil aspects to it that I still couldn't cope with.

Third District was dark as ever, though somehow darker with the strange, empty absence of the Hunters. Of course, it was my favorite place to sit and think or just spar with Selphie or Cloud or Squall. Now I just chose to walk, dragging my feet along the ground. I think the fact that not many vampires came to Third District (flashbacks of the Hunters I was sure) was the main reason I liked to hang out here. I could be alone here. I'd never been able to bring myself to go inside the Hunter's old house though, which was atypical for old unsentimental me.

I heard the door from Second District slid open, creaking and dragging against the brick ground. The wall was just high enough that I couldn't see the person but I knew it was a human because the scent of warm blood filled the air. It was the strangest thing, to smell a human. It was really indescribable. I figured one of Selphie's challengers and didn't think much about it…until I heard another door close. The person and went into the Hunter's old house!

I knew it was probably just a desperate individual looking for a decent hiding place and wanted to just forget about it and move on…but something inside felt hostile toward the human. According to my logic, if I couldn't bring myself to enter, then no one else should enter either! It was almost like they would be walking into sacred memories uninvited. _Sacred memories_. I snorted. I really really needed to lay off the drama.

Still…I was curious. And everyone knew what happened when I got curious. No amount of evil brainwashing could change my single-mindedness or inquisitiveness, both of which were basically fancy ways of saying I was terminally nosy. And I won't lie, part of me jumped at the thought that maybe the Sora or someone had returned. I knew it was unlikely and even if they had, I was still a vampire and they were still fully against me. It was, if you tilted your head and squinted really hard, a sick and twisted relation that I had to the Hunters.

Anyway, curiosity got the better of me and I found myself heading toward the stairs. I could have just as easily used my new handy dandy super duper jumping power if I wanted, but sometimes it was just better to do things the old fashioned way. Besides, if I got too lazy and used the speed too often, I could lose my gorgeous physique. Ha. Haha.

The house was still dark – the human was good at hiding then – and really, there were no signs of anything out of the ordinary. I stared at the door, still tacked up with tons of crosses. I hated this door so much. I unwound my scarf from around my neck (a new scarf since the old one had that freshly dead smell) and wrapped it around my hand. It didn't completely erase the effect of the crucifixes and garlic, but it lessened the severity. It ws a little trick I'd picked up from Tidus, who enjoyed the occasional game of hot potato. 'Who can hold the cross the longest' was another popular sport among the town of the living idiots.

I pushed the door open quickly, shaking my hand out to get rid of the burning sensation, and stepped inside. My eyes automatically adjusted to the dark. "Hello, little human person." I called, a sign-song note unintentionally worming its way into my tone. I surveyed the room; it was shadowy and bare as usual. "C'mon, I'm a nice one. Really, I don't want to eat you. I just don't want you in _here_." I dropped the vampire-style teasing and got down to brass tacks. What did that really mean anyway? Brass tacks. "I _will_ find you, ya know. I'm a vampire…I'm good at this sort of thing." I walked farther into the room, bombarded with sadness. That stupid tie to humanity brought back those useless memories. The place even smelled like Sora's cologne still.

The door shut suddenly, sending a slam through the silent room that abruptly jolted me out of memory lane. I spun around and instinctively charged at the human shadow standing there and threw him back against the door. Wait…

The human smirked. "Brass tacks means bare essentials, the nitty-gritty, the basics…take your pick." I let my arms fall limply to my sides and jumped back a few feet, enough to feel comfortable. "And you may be a vampire, but I'm a Hunter. And I outrank you."

Shit.

z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

_A/N: Well obviously this isn't the epilogue. If it was, it would be a very **sucky** epilogue. I got a little inspiration and decided to continue this. I have no idea how long the idea will last, but I promise it will be over before you have the chance to get tired of it. Now…you all get to start wondering again if it will end up squffie or yuriku. _

_I may still end up using Tynan…who knows…_

_**Reviewer Thanks: You all have NO idea how much your reviews mean to me. I'm so serious. Thank you so much. I love you all.**_

_**October Breeze**_

_**Meranii**_

_**Wolf Fangs**_

_**Mystic-Angel1**: That typo is wonderful and it is forever going in my Typo Hall of Fame as THE typo. I just KNEW it would happen when I named the cat Lula…but I tried to pull it off anyway. And yes, SELPHIE DID IT!_

_**Deplora:** THERE! I had a kiss between Squall and Yuffie. Muwha! I can't tell you if there will be more in the future though…because that might ruin the ending._

_**ShadowKairi:** Oh…the Angel obsession. You have noooo idea. _

_**Azn-saphirestar**_

_**Aoi-Butterfly**_

_**NeonRaine**_

_**DidiKiwi**_

_**Adalai**_

_**Hoshisuzu**_

_**Joy Blue**_

_**Classengurl**_

_**Qwicksilver**_

_**Dragon Scales the Lazy**: I don't really know why I brought Rikku in, to be honest. She was just kinda there…and she would end up being the escape for the Hunters. I think I was just playing a lot of FFX-2 when I wrote this and…yeah._

Bracken-Fae 

_**Kirkayano**_

_**Amanda/gothy**_

_**Amber Lantern**_

_**Shadowrule**s: Sorry it took me a while. I've been sidetracked with other fics and a lot of schoolwork…_


	13. The end

_A/N: I'm having a great time with the lyrics…if you couldn't tell. There were SO many I wanted to use and I must have changed them around a dozen times…I'll tell ya. The biggest mistake was listening to Yellowcard and writing this chapter. Nope. I wanted to use almost every song. Used in this chapter: 3 Doors Down, Yellowcard, and Fefe Dobson…I've set a record I think._

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

"And you may be a vampire, but I'm a Hunter. And I outrank you."

It may have only been two months since I'd last seen him but it could have been an eternity and I would never forget that hair. "That was fairly ethnocentric, don't you think?" I frowned at him.

"What kinda greeting is that for your old best enemy? No hug?" He asked with a smirk.

_Infuriating_ as ever. My temper unexpectedly flared. "You…oh ho _you_. You've messed it up! Here I am learning how to work through my evil issues and you appear and screw it all back up!" I practically yelled at him.

_**One more kiss could be the best thing**_

He chuckled. "Hi Yuffie."

Calm. Calm. Getting angry wouldn't solve anything. It would only make it worse…though I was having trouble figuring out how this could get much worse. I sighed. "Why the _hell_ are you back in Traverse Town? I thought we agreed that visits were out of the question."

One more lie could be the worst 

"I had to talk to you."

"To me? What about?" My arms folded over my chest. I squinted at him and tried to read his mind. I wish that ability had come with the emotion-radar. That would have been a hell of a lot more useful. And if Squall found out about this…I was sure Riku would be dead. Not even I could prevent his wrath.

Riku glanced at the floor for a moment. "Do you mind if I turn on the light?" He asked. I didn't answer but I didn't mind either way, knowing it would probably make him feel more comfortable.

He reached over and flipped the light switch. It took a few seconds but the light finally flickered on. We stared at each other. He looked the same as I remembered him, the only difference being his shorter hair. "Well? You're lucky I'm not _totally_ evil now or you'd be brunch."

"You'd be dust first." Riku grinned, his hand disappearing behind his back and returning with a very familiar stake. He still had Squall's.

I rolled my eyes. "Doesn't that bring back the memories."

**_And all these thoughts are never resting_**

"I'm sorry?"

"Ya know. Back when you were stabbed. You had a stake hidden with you. Planning to kill me were you." I added darkly. This had been bugging me since the incident but I'd never really allowed myself to dwell on it. It was just something else to shove me closer to madness.

Riku, though, seemed genuinely amused. "You thought I was trying to stake _you_?" He chuckled again. "I had the stake with me from beforehand, that's all. None of that was planned, trust me." He sounded honest enough...and it did make sense, since earlier that day he had been out vampire hunting and saving Rikku and me.

And you're not something I deserve 

"Hmph." I glared at him. "So. What do you need to talk to me about?"

His grin faded considerably. I could just tell things were about to get seriously serious. "I wanted to see you and just…see how you were doing. That's it."

"Oh. Really. A ton of worlds away to just shoot the breeze, huh?" I looked at him in disbelief, my voice hard. I wasn't trying to be purposely hateful, it was just happening.

He nodded and sat down, clasping his hands together in front of him. Silver strands of hair hid his blue-green eyes. It was odd the way the roles had been reversed. No longer was I the one defending myself while he took sardonic shots at me. "No actually, not just to talk. I wanted to ask you something." He raised his eyes to mine. "Do…do you like being a vampire?" He asked at last, his voice low.

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "What?" He gave me the _you-know-what-I-said_ sort of look that my mom used to give me all the time. "Obviously I hate being a vampire! Who in their right mind would like that sort of thing? I mean, I know Squall does, but he's not exactly the sanest person. Why do you ask?"

You love me but you don't know who I am 

Riku looked down again, this time letting his hair fall cover his entire face. He was doing that quiet thing again and I didn't have the patience. "Would you ever consider turning me?"

I would have laughed and dismissed it as a joke, a little ha-ha time on Yuffie, but I felt the solemnity radiating from him like rays from the sun. He meant it. "Are you crazy?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"Yuffie-"

"No, honestly. Are you…are you on _drugs_ or something?" I shook my head. "Did you, Riku, Hunter of the Hunters, just ask me to turn you into a vampire – for all intents and purposes _killing_ you – and you are completely of sound mind? Or am I in the middle of an elaborate delusion meaning I've finally gone off the deep end and lost it?"

"I'm completely serious-"

"Serious? Oh we're serious. Oh. Well. Okay. _Why_ in the _world_ would you be serious about wanting to _die_?"

I'm torn between this life I lead 

"You said it yourself, if things had been different." He answered, staring at me with all the intensity of a gummyship hitting a tree at warp speed.

I laughed. I don't really know why I laughed, but I did. "So y-you want me to sire you because you're in love with me? You really are crazy. What have you done with the real Riku, the Riku that would have already moved on without a second glance? What about Sora and Kairi? What about them?"

"They have each other. Things…things have changed. I've changed-"

"You've suddenly fallen madly in love with me. You've gone and lost your rabid ass mind in the course of two measly months, and then come to the conclusion that you want to become a vampire?"

Riku's eyes flashed. "Do you think I _like_ being in love with you? I couldn't _stand_ you when I first met you, so yeah, during the course of the past quarter of a year I have lost my mind. I can't fix it though! I just can't…stop. It doesn't _work_ like that dammit-" He'd gotten heated in the course of battle, his voice raising with each word, until it eventually came to a head. The emotion explosion must have propelled him forward because with speed challenging my own, he covered his mouth with mine, kissing me fiercely.

**And where I stand**

Without a second thought I shoved him away and clapped my hand over my mouth. Riku hit the wall powerfully. "No!" I said firmly. "You don't get to do that!" He raised his eyes to mine, silently asking so many questions that I didn't have an answer for. "You don't get to come in and ruin everything! You don't-" I took a deep breath, one that I didn't need for any other reason besides relaxing. My emotions were going haywire and taking over.

"Would things change if you sired me? Would you feel differently?" He asked quietly, eyes still probing mine for honest answers. I couldn't help it. I hesitated. "Just do it then. Do it before you back out or I back out-"

"Aha! Before _you_ back out! You obviously don't understand what you're asking me to do. I. Will. Kill. You. You will be _dead_ and there's no return policy." I yelled, ready to pull my hair out in frustration. "I know what you must think! 'Oh look how _fast_ you run Yuffie. You're so _immortal_ Yuffie'. Well it's not all tea and _frickin'_ muffins there Riku!" I exclaimed. I had started to pace in the middle of my tirade, giving the occasional hand gesture to punctuate the important parts. "You want to become what you were born to fight? You said it yourself; you're a Hunter. You hate my kind, remember that? We're evil and you're good-"

"Stop calling yourself that! You aren't and you never will be evil!" Riku exploded, looking just as aggravated as I felt.

"But I _am_! I'm a vampire! You have to deal with that!"

You love me but you don't know who I am 

"You're not evil." He insisted, shaking his head.

It was then I decided he was crazy. Totally crazy. What would it take to prove to him that I wasn't the Great Ninja Yuffie anymore? "Come here." I said menacingly, narrowing my eyes. He advanced. When he was close enough to touch, I wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and swiftly pulled him toward me. He raised the stake as I did and it hovered over my heart, the tip just barely touching my skin. I leaned up, pulling the idea from my experience with Squall, and rested my lips against his collar. The skin was so much warmer than mine…than Squall's. "I could slaughter you right now if I wanted to. One bite, one quick snap of the neck…how do you know I won't just kill you?" I whispered.

He swallowed moderately hard for someone who seemed so confident through anything and everything. His throat was bare and exposed, tempting me. Just one simple drink, not even enough for a decent swallow, would be enough to take him out of this world and put him into a temporarily dark one. Then I could have his happy ass right back to Sora and Kairi before anyone here knew any better. "I know, because you aren't evil." He replied calmly, his breath ruffling my hair. I couldn't sense any fear or anxiety, not even a rapid heartbeat. This guy actually fully trusted that I wouldn't kill him. I released him and took a few more steps back, now pressing against the back wall. "If you don't sire me, I'll find someone who will." He added.

Oooh. He was playing the jealousy card. 'Someone' very obviously meant Selphie. Well, two could play at that game. "Squall would kill you. What, did you think just because you suddenly woke up as one of us that you would just be welcomed? He would cut your head off when he saw you, human or vampire. No questions asked." I said nastily, hoping to strike doubt into this poor misled man's heart. "And…and I would let him." So that comment wasn't necessary but it got my point across.

_**So let me go**_

Riku, who'd pretty much stayed expressionless the entire fight, suddenly looked hurt. Now I'd seen him _hurt_ hurt before, quite a few times, but I'd never seen his face fall like it did when I spoke. "I see."

The humanity in me went _twinge_ in a really strong way. I hadn't meant to hurt his feelings, I just wanted to scare him. I wanted him to leave and make this easier on all of us. "Please. Don't make this harder than it is. Please? There will be someone else. Someone good and alive and meant for you. It's like you said, Squall loves me and somewhere buried deep…_deep_…deep in my subconscious I must love him too. It's that damn destiny thing." I smiled weakly, hoping to bring him back to reality. "Go home and _stay_ home."

Riku didn't speak for a long time, seeming to take in and soak my words thoroughly. Finally he slid his arms over his chest and looked at me. "There's no way you're going to sire me?"

I shook my head. "Sorry. I can't do that to you."

"Hmm. And things wouldn't change even if I did get another vampire to do it?" I shook my head again. "So there's nothing left for me to say, except goodbye. For real this time." He half-grinned, reminding me of the Riku I knew, not this out-of-his-mind lovestruck idiot.

I laughed. "Please. For real this time. Would it help if I promised to write?"

"Probably not the _best_ idea." He laughed too. It felt very uncomfortable all of a sudden. Especially for me. I started to wonder why I hadn't been overjoyed to see him. I should have tackled him the second I recognized him and lived practically happily ever after. I should have been ecstatic that he was so deeply in love with me that he would give up his life to become immortal with me. And still, I wished it had never happened. I had wondered how it would have been if he'd returned…and now that I knew, I wished I didn't. This revelation was my first big step toward slicing out my humanity. I would eventually, completely lose it – the process was already beginning – but to _know_ that without a doubt…well I was afraid.

I wanted to talk about it but I knew Riku would never truly understand and as for Aerith (my only real hope of a friend to confide in) she had never really left her human mind frame. She was sort of like the ultimate vegan vampire. Selphie…well, that would be awkward. We should have felt closest, both of us at different times being in love with the same man, both of us former Hunters…yet that seemed to drive us further from each other.

Tidus. He just wasn't smart enough to comprehend…well, anything really. Lulu hated me with every evil fiber she had in her body – just the evil in those ginormous breasticles of hers was enough to kill me twice over – and Wakka would probably tell me I was being punished for my ingratitude and disloyalty and I had to deal with it on my own. That left Cloud or Squall…and Cloud was just plain scary. Squall, though he was big and mean and intimidating, would probably be a good listener. As for the sympathizing…well that would undoubtedly be lacking.

Anyone would need some alone time to sort through their thoughts and feelings after an encounter like this…but I really just wanted to go home. My home…with Squall. That was home now.

Riku marched forward and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. I didn't hesitate to return it. Yeah, I may have doubted the whole situation and I may have been downright confused with everything that had just happened…but still. "I loved you, ya know." I muttered, totally exposing my vulnerable side.

"Yeah yeah. I know." He answered. "See ya." That was when he backed away and walked out the door, not looking at me even once.

_**Let me go**_

So our story ended. For real this time.

_**z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z**_

_**Maybe someday I will see you again**_

_**And you'll look me in my eyes**_

_**And call me your friend**_

_**z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z**_

Squall was still reading his book, looking exactly as I had left him. He didn't bother to look up when I entered, probably knowing it was me right off. I slipped off my coat and put it back on the rack, letting my shoes slide off my feet and rest by the door. Squall would complain at me later but I didn't care. I looked at him for a minute, trying to find the fond feelings I knew I had for him. Anymore, the fact that he made me the way I was was beside the point. It had happened, things had changed, things were over, and I was dealing with it.

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "You like to stare." He observed monotonously. I let my feet slide across the carpet, slowly making my way over to him. My socks were bunching up around the toes, falling lower and lower until my heels were exposed. I pulled the book from his hands, to which he mildly protested, and placed it on the couch beside him.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked.

He sensed it was serious and turned his full attention to me, forehead slightly creased. I assumed his answer was yes even though he hadn't said anything. Unfortunately, I was starting to have second thoughts. He was listening so intently that it made me nervous. "Well? Is everything okay?" He prodded when I didn't immediately begin to rattle like I usually did.

_Aw_. I thought, smiling inwardly. _He's worried_. I took another deep breath, a habit from my human days, and shook my head. "Yeah…no I'm alright. I'm good. Just never mind." I turned my back to him and proceeded to withdraw into my room. (I still wouldn't sleep in his room with him.) Lula had been asleep on my pillow but raised her head when I entered, mewing softly. I dived onto the bed, bouncing a few times. She dug her claws into the fabric to keep from flying off onto the floor. "Sorry Lu…" I snickered, scratching her underneath the chin. She purred contentedly, forgiving and forgetting about the interrupted beauty sleep.

I rolled over to stare at the ceiling, glad that Squall wasn't the 'let's talk about what's on your mind' kind of guy. I'd shut my door, essentially shutting him out, and he'd complied with that. That was a good couple of respect points earned in my book and he was very slowly racking up those points, little by very little.

Lula crawled to her feet and stretched, temporarily pulling out of my reach. As soon as she realized she was no longer being scratched, she meowed irritably and leaned closer, giving me just enough space to resume petting. I smiled. Like owner like pet. That's what I was doing with Squall, wasn't it? I was giving him just enough room to reach me, but never pull me in. "C'mere Lu." I sighed, sitting up and scooping her into my arms. She, being the Great Lion Lula, protested with claws of doom. Fortunately I'd had those claws of doom removed so that they were merely _paws_ of doom. She was an old-fashioned and very spoiled indoor cat and didn't need any forms of protection that didn't include me.

And Squall, who had acted as though he'd hated Lula at first, constantly muttering threats toward her though he was the first one to refresh her kiblets when the bowl was running low. I'd caught him a few times on his couch, reading his books with Lula asleep curled up beside him. He could 'hate' her all he wanted but he wasn't putting anything past me. "You're a girl, Lu, so you'll understand. Guys. Suck. Okay? If you ever meet a little furry dude, run really really fast, okay?" I lay on my back and held her above me.

She looked down at me with innocent, green cat eyes and cocked her head to the side, as though understanding my warning. "Meow." She told me seriously. I lowered her to my stomach and let her crawl back to her place on the pillow.

"Yuffie." The door opened not 5 seconds later and Squall walked in, closing the door behind him.

So much for those respect points.

I glanced over at him. "Have you ever heard of knocking?" I asked, just for the sake of being difficult.

He slowly walked over, seeming hesitant to approach. "Did something happen?" He questioned very carefully.

I watched as he continued to trek toward me, wondering how far he would get before he realized he was being good and human-like. I kept waiting for him to rush out and go hunt a human to regain his manliness. "Someone came back." I answered.

He paused in mid-stride. "The Hunters." He said darkly, glowering at Lula. I knew he wasn't focusing on her.

"Hunter." I corrected, twisting my finger around my belt loop in my shorts.

His eyes glittered. "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice hard. He looked outraged. "Did he hurt you-"

"_Down_ boy, of course not. He's gone now. He…" I snickered. "He wanted me to sire him." I paused just to enjoy the open expression of shock on his face. "I told him off and sent him home, so calm down Squallie. Big girl Yuffie took care of it." I teased, getting a bizarre kick out of seeing him so jealous so easy. I fell back onto the bed and stared up at the white ceiling.

He seemed to sulk for a minute, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to address the taunting or the Riku issue. After a few seconds, he decided on neither. Instead, without warning, he positioned himself to lie on his back next to me and also face the ceiling. "So was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" It was strange, but in a good sort of way.

"Yeah. There is something to talk to you about." I propped myself up on one elbow and reached down to feel his forehead. The skin was cold as usual. "Is it possible for vampires to get sick?"

"No why?"

"Cause you're acting really weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah. Not your usual distant self." I fell back again, resting my arms over my stomach. As strange as this all was, I was actually enjoying the moment. I was actually _enjoying_ Squall's company. He didn't answer right away, deciding just how offended he should have been.

"Isn't that what you wanted?" He asked finally. I have to admit I was totally blow anyway by this answer. It was just not something I'd ever think I'd hear Squall say. He did actually care about me then? Wasn't this like, _every_ girl's dream to have an already strong, tall, dark, and handsome man try to change to please her? What the hell was _wrong_ with me?

But then I remembered Riku. He was the same way, except a little less dark, a little bit shorter, but every bit as handsome. And he had been willing to change for me too! Scratch that, he'd been willing to _die_ for me. That, my friends, was devotion. So what alternate universe had I been thrown into? Vampires, decent and attractive men, superhero Hunters? Lots of big world fun for such a small world girl.

I rolled over onto my stomach and looked down at him. My hair fell over my eyes. "I want you to be you…except nicer." I said honestly.

He chewed on this for a long, still minute. Then, very seriously, he said, "That's kind of a contradictory statement don't you think?" At first I didn't know how to take it. Here he was, showing a lighter, friendlier side of himself, even making _jokes_ about himself, and I was completely tongue-tied. He glanced at me when I didn't answer. "What? What's that look about? You want me to be more open and I'm trying."

"Yeah, yeah I see that. I'm just shocked it all. You've gotta give me a second." I grinned down at him. He actually smiled back, shock of all shocks. I decided he had a good smile. "You better be careful though," I poked him in the arm with my index finger. "You might actually be a decent guy underneath."

"I really hope you aren't banking on that."

"No, no trust me. I'll be the first to call you an evil, soulless asshole without so much as a second glance." I snickered. Thing was, I was serious. He smiled again and looked back up at the ceiling. Lula had gotten tired of being ignored and had decided to do something about it. She stretched without leaving her throne and nudged me with her paw, pushing until I eventually caved and scooted a few inches closer to Squall. She then stood and sauntered over and climbed onto my back, her tiny feet pressing against my bare skin. "Uh oh, Lula wants some attention." I said, reaching behind me to grab ahold of her. She bit my hand lightly, not enough to hurt but just enough to warn me back. I sighed. Sometimes I wondered if my when my old self died, it had gotten reincarnated as Lula. She was just as stubborn and independent as I was.

"I hate this cat." Squall grumbled as she jumped from my back and landed on his stomach.

"Aw, how could you hate lil' Lu?" I baby-voiced. As if on cue Lula began kneading, preparing her 'bed'. She was lucky she had been declawed or she might have been thrown against a wall or two. Squall glared awkwardly at her but made no move to make her leave. Ha! Further proof he didn't really hate her.

I was close to forgetting the recent occurrences…close. I wasn't sure why it suddenly came flooding back but it did. I wished I knew what had triggered it because I would have made sure that trigger was permanently disabled. My face must've turned serious or grim or something because Squall's forehead creased.

"What?" He asked. I shrugged and, of course, he didn't buy it. Lula mewed grumpily at him as he sat up, in turn forcing her to slide down to his lap. She was compelled to begin kneading again. I sat up too. "Are you really going to be that unhappy with me?" His question was low and sincere, his eyes searching mine.

I wanted to look down, hide my face, go cry in a corner somewhere…but I didn't. "No. I'll be fine soon. We're both just gonna have to take this slow. You being less asshole-y and me getting used to being…me. It takes longer than a few simple months, ya know."

"I know."

"And you know that soon I'll have transformed this place into a normal house, instead of this gloomy, black bachelor pad you've got going."

"I know."

"Have you ever head of music? What about that TV in there? I'll bet you've never even used it, have you? It's _way_ too quiet in here!"

"I have the feeling you'll fix that." He smirked.

I gave him a squinty ha-ha-very-funny look. To make up for the comment, he pulled me over into a strange, sideways hug. "Who are you and what have you done with Squall?" I grinned despite the seriousness of the gesture.

He ignored that and let me go, his arm unwinding from around my middle. He put his hand under my chin and held my face toward his to keep my utmost attention. "Stop worrying about him. He won't hurt you anymore."

"You don't get it." I told him, pushing his hand away. "He never hurt me-"

"Look at yourself Yuffie. Look at how upset and concerned you are. He _has_ hurt you and I promise he'll never do it again. You're mine."

I looked at him sharply. "I'm going to pretend that was sweet and _not_ possessive at all." I said slowly, frowning. "And as insightful as that was, it's not just him that made me like this. It's you and this lifestyle and the blood and constant death and…but I can't blame it just on Riku." I sighed heavily, letting my head fall down between my knees. This was my way of expressing my frustration. The blood rush to the head was always nice…at least until I had to lift myself again and end up with a hellish headache. I felt a hand press against the small of my back. He didn't say anything, which comforted me in some remarkable way. It was as though he was letting me know he was there without actually letting me know.

After a good 30 seconds of absolutely nothing except the sound of Lula's snoring (yes, my cat snored. Go figure.) I sat backup and turned to him, wondering what to say. I wanted to tell him thanks, but then again I knew he was the reason behind _all_ of it. _I've got to let that go. _"I love you. Apparently." I said finally, smiling a little.

Squall raised an eyebrow, a low chuckle escaping his lips. "Apparently." He repeated with a question in his voice.

I didn't feel like explaining the whole mind-reading/kissing/fantasy ordeal so I simply described it, "I mean, I don't hate you or wish that you would be damned to eternal suffering anymore…so."

"Oh. Well. We're making progress then." He replied offhandedly, patting my shoulder. I half-smiled and looked forward, sighing again. "I um." He began, stumbling a bit. "I love you too, Yuffie."

I turned my head so fast I nearly got whiplash. My eyes must have been wide as saucers. "Thanks." I said, feeling my face grow warm. Why couldn't blushing be something confined to humanity too? I heard the front door open just then. I straightened. "Aerith?"

"Aerith." He nodded. I couldn't help feeling disappointed. I knew things would change with him when Aerith was here when all I wanted was to stay like this for a the rest of the night. I guess I must have looked a little dejected because he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I'm not here or I'm here." I looked at him in confusion. "Your choice."

"Squall? Yuffie? Are you here?" Aerith's dulcet voice came from the living room.

I cast a glance at Squall, who was expressionless and therefore no help at all. "Uh, yeah." I called, shrugging when he glanced at me. "I'm here…but um, Squall's not." Another small smile formed on his lips and he looked away to hide it. I decided, as the butterflies in my stomach fluttered frantically, that I really liked this side of Squall. Really. Really and truly. Giggle giggle.

"Oh…where is he?" Aerith was at my door now.

"He didn't say…um. Not much of a talker, ya know." I panicked. What if she came in? Squall though looked calm and collected as ever.

Aerith was quiet for a minute. "Okay then." She chirped finally. "I'll go see if I can hunt him down. See you later…Yuffie." She called. I heard the sound of footsteps leading away from the door.

"Okay, bye." I let out a little sigh of relief. Squall looked over at me, absently stroking Lula's head. "How was that?" I giggled and bit my lip, reminding myself of Selphie around Tidus. I knew at that moment that Squall wouldn't be able to act like this very often or I might lose my sharp, abrasive approach with him. Maybe that was his plan!

"Don't worry about it. You've made the right choice." He answered. He was implying two things, that much I knew. The sneaky little fiend. But at that moment he chose to kiss me, silencing my suspicions, incoherent thoughts, and doubts. I wasn't worried. I knew that I had an eternity to figure it out, an eternity to spend with him. I had technically been given the ultimate key to finding the secret to life, so a simple double meaning would be cake. I had _immortal_ life, a forever. But I was too wrapped up in Squall's kiss to think about such things right then.

Live in the moment, eh?

z-z-z-z-z-z-z 

_**And the days will get warmer**_

_**And I'll take down my armor**_

_**Together we can fight this feeling**_

_**And the demons that stalk us**_

_**Will eventually turn to dust**_

_**Together we can start this healing**_

_**z-z-z-z-z-z-z**_

_A/N: Well, its over now. I know, my inspiration lasted for just so long. But, I guess that's the way it goes. I liked how it ended actually, even though at first I really wanted this story to be Yuriku…but many things made that a difficult thing to do. Besides, I made the end fluffy enough to keep Squall semi-IC AND not be such an evil hardass. I hope I did anyway. Besides, this will be my last squffie for a while (my last chaptered story for a while too…MANY Yuriku on the way…) so I figured what the heck._

_Guys, I had the best time in the world writing this and seeing all your reactions. You have no idea. I so appreciate the kind words and reviews and threats to update. You honestly will never know. I'll put the up credits and disclaimers and things soon._

_Happy incredibly belated birthday Deplora. I hope you enjoyed this._

_Reviewer Thanks:_

ItHatesYou: Wakka as a vampire. Heh. I know what you mean. But I really just took FF characters and put em in and since I adore Wakka (in a he's a big, fluffy bear of a man way, not fangirl sense) I added him.

_Yuriku-lover_

_AshleyYata_

_Azn-saphirestar_

_The Ringbearer Galadrial_

_Amber Latern: Hope that's a good sort of hate. _

_RETARDcupcake_

_Bracken-Fae_

_Kirakayano_

_Angelbabi667_

_Shadowrules_

_The Evil Leprechaun: I'm thinkin' no sequel, unfortunately. October Breeze and I are talking about writing a sequel-like parody to this though. Look out for that within the next…well. Long time. _

_KairiLuv: I know! I only continued for another chapter though. I'm sorry! Thank you so much for all of your reviews. They were so encouraging._

_Meranii: You remember Vincent? It's not him. Update or die, btw. _

_Alassea2_

_Wolf Fangs_

_Dragon Scales 13_

_Mystic-Angel1: I'm sorry I didn't use Tynan – trust me. I'll use her in other things. –evil laughter-_

_Natsu-Aoki_

_October Breeze: The only sequel in mind is the parody that you suggested…_

_ShadowKairi_

_Deplora: Nope, sorry. Yuffie stealed Squallie. Yuriku is addictive! I would know! I've gotten addicted to writing them! _

_**- THE END -**_


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